tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861951631578140872024-02-22T04:05:57.826-05:00StartFinishBikeNewsBicycle racing news, commentary, and culture as seen from my vantage point behind the microphone at races across New England and sometimes from the saddle.startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-34635816936244231892011-11-04T22:07:00.001-04:002011-11-04T22:10:10.368-04:00Freakin' Out in Noho<span style="font-size: 11pt;">I haven't updated this thing in a year. Did anyone miss me? No? I didn't think so. The three of you who know that this thing exists (hi Mom, Solo, GeWilli) know that I've been staying plenty busy with announcing, riding, and racing cross (if you can call it racing at my speed). Not to mention real life. There hasn't been much time for blogging. </span><br />
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Dick Ring didn't have <a href="http://www.cyclingdirt.com/">cycling dirt</a>, to help him revive all those old sayings he used to use. Does anyone remember his classic "groove in on that" while he was killing a minute or two listing the upcoming races? But Anthony Clark does have cyclingdirt's undivided attention and therefore <a href="http://www.cyclingdirt.org/video/510375-Anthony-Clark-FREAKIN-OUT-Granogue-Day-1">"freak out</a>" has taken on a new life within the NECX scene 40 years after it's cultural high water mark as the title of an early Frank Zappa album. If freaking out is what it takes to go from tagging along to JPow's wheel on a department store bike to scoring legit UCI CX points within a couple of years, I'm all for it.<br />
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Since the last time I updated this blog, Western Mass has survived tornadoes (June), microbursts (July), historic flooding (August), and most recently a pre-winter snowstorm with widespread blackouts lasting almost a week (there are still 10s of thousands without power today). I am curious to see what's left of my old "stomping grounds". But instead of picking up my number at Noho Coffee this evening and stressing out over tomorrow morning's impending race, I am sitting here at home. I wish I was there in Noho with the NECX, but I whacked myself hard riding in the woods yesterday and I know I can't ride yet. I might have cracked a rib going over the handlebars on a steep rocky drop off that I should have had the good sense to walk down. I'm hoping to race Sunday, but it doesn't look likely. It's a good thing I'm not announcing this weekend, I can barely take a full breath and announcing is harder work than you might think.<br />
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But I can't stay away. I'll be there watching this weekend if not racing. And, if I can race, I am looking forward to a major freak out.startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-37182707954358694172010-11-21T01:40:00.001-05:002010-11-21T01:49:16.425-05:00Cyclocross SmorgasbordWhen I can fit it in between announcing and racing, I've been snapping some pictures at the races. Most are out of focus or too dark or too light. But every once in a while I get lucky and get a good shot. Here are a few of the best working backwards in time from Coonamessett to the Mayor's Cup:<br />
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<strong>Coonamessett Farm Cyclo-cross</strong><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifWMBEw8odkPC3ULzqcUpZoycxcrLWfnbTVR-Lpd-T6H4-0RC3WNNvaLVhrdZXJ5yzq1vhJmkzT-YZYCgj8RGIE33kZJ0ZqLBltb49nsLJYuLlb8q4B97uMYSBVfzLXZFSu_07ZsE5YWVY/s1600/november+2010+240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifWMBEw8odkPC3ULzqcUpZoycxcrLWfnbTVR-Lpd-T6H4-0RC3WNNvaLVhrdZXJ5yzq1vhJmkzT-YZYCgj8RGIE33kZJ0ZqLBltb49nsLJYuLlb8q4B97uMYSBVfzLXZFSu_07ZsE5YWVY/s320/november+2010+240.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Roger Cadman (Newbury Comics/High and Mighty Beer) wasn't wearing his number so I didn't know his name during the race. So, as he finished the race, I just said "He's not feeling so High and Mighty now, is he!" He laughed so I guess it wasn't over the line sarcastic. Congrats to the NC/H&M Beer team on assembling the best ever combination of sponsors in cyclo-cross.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4bGigIFGsN7hAiYEYFYG4uIPEnVRWNgMv0c5XA4ic1fRhoTU7S7NUVOWHSJL3IPjYMaSL93J7rm7DP4jqhSg3qw9c7s-wW522U_bXPd-oec4HO3QcwshU8QxsIX04kkiMPxhQoLg7MIR/s1600/november+2010+258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4bGigIFGsN7hAiYEYFYG4uIPEnVRWNgMv0c5XA4ic1fRhoTU7S7NUVOWHSJL3IPjYMaSL93J7rm7DP4jqhSg3qw9c7s-wW522U_bXPd-oec4HO3QcwshU8QxsIX04kkiMPxhQoLg7MIR/s320/november+2010+258.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">During the race, George Sykes (Corner Cycle owner) bet Synjen $20 that he couldn't catch up to Jonny Bold who was about 50 yards ahead. It only took two laps, then Johnny gave Synjen his front wheel after Synjen flatted. Jonny's Crossresults ranking is going to take a beating with that DNF.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZec5KVk30lR1vheV58YqCdpPo88XscKxuAbDO8Jn7AuGiL6PxgAXQLDxlbMHbFXJHFRvuDZdcT6m4kjH9Pp_whec4vGfS_Xk3vz87GweruwNtKgv1Jbxvqk4YWrAndze29jagsuZUJoR7/s1600/november+2010+249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZec5KVk30lR1vheV58YqCdpPo88XscKxuAbDO8Jn7AuGiL6PxgAXQLDxlbMHbFXJHFRvuDZdcT6m4kjH9Pp_whec4vGfS_Xk3vz87GweruwNtKgv1Jbxvqk4YWrAndze29jagsuZUJoR7/s320/november+2010+249.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Steven Hopengarten lined up with two current national champions and a former national champion and only two other guys for cover. He had fun anyway.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Cycle-Smart International Day 2, Northampton, Massachusetts</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmBXMuwVzPNDtbXnkAJo7eBbn6I5mJQBRBE-FPOa0JZHxkwP8qxDabVzXvdAqYVsF53zq3oY_K-UvviltAPumywB6ID-61bNs6HD7d2qVfC2NLs0R0V8K_tmvT3XMMFEusjqtxgR94G7hA/s1600/november+2010+209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="98" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmBXMuwVzPNDtbXnkAJo7eBbn6I5mJQBRBE-FPOa0JZHxkwP8qxDabVzXvdAqYVsF53zq3oY_K-UvviltAPumywB6ID-61bNs6HD7d2qVfC2NLs0R0V8K_tmvT3XMMFEusjqtxgR94G7hA/s400/november+2010+209.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After racing (badly) in the morning, and then a road trip to Jiminy Peak, I made it back to Look Park just in time for the start of the elite men's race on Sunday. My camera has a feature that stitches three photos together to make a panoramic view. I think it's meant for the Grand Canyon and stuff like that, but here is a panorama of the mens' starting lineup.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfFb1UmegQ32SxvgoXWJlSg39kk9P8tTjcZlRnBIrWIhcp-U8eej6APLysqGUIIyB5aRabVElt-X7XWqmzRrrkecBK3jmd7-MHskWm3SI2IzoMYc6VnTriTwk7d0kFmRLhyWkC8u1Nwl6A/s1600/november+2010+211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfFb1UmegQ32SxvgoXWJlSg39kk9P8tTjcZlRnBIrWIhcp-U8eej6APLysqGUIIyB5aRabVElt-X7XWqmzRrrkecBK3jmd7-MHskWm3SI2IzoMYc6VnTriTwk7d0kFmRLhyWkC8u1Nwl6A/s400/november+2010+211.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The race started off well for Luca Damiani, hopping the barriers and in the lead here on the first lap. It would end for him a couple of laps later when he sliced his leg open on another rider's chainring. Maybe you have seen the picture of his leg taken in the hospital with 16 stitches (it looks like a lot more than 16). Nasty nasty nasty. Luca is recovering at home in Italy now, his cross season is over.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSkOfaR5A3lv5KbvBJo3r_qlD15cs3JJTa0ALUIn9AgvqiVNxsT2C6iFS-6VGN8Aqf-qlTUVaerWwzSwys5SYfk8Y7ErRR5K7Vv9G9qU9Z287RA3uea5JmS7eraWeIo7n58EX_HcwuMzGb/s1600/november+2010+219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSkOfaR5A3lv5KbvBJo3r_qlD15cs3JJTa0ALUIn9AgvqiVNxsT2C6iFS-6VGN8Aqf-qlTUVaerWwzSwys5SYfk8Y7ErRR5K7Vv9G9qU9Z287RA3uea5JmS7eraWeIo7n58EX_HcwuMzGb/s400/november+2010+219.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Luke Keough was lucky enough to be in front of Luca when he tangled with the chainring. That sprung Luke to get away for good.</div></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-BSEfgCeVpDUm_z-COrsUv6CiDiHZhqMt7P_uUYzABgee2gJhgbPkBwt8zOi4cp0pF0HkwQLHc1lEI0W1VITvdJJG4Z7R26AO_natmNsuo_0kjB60VBtdAjGv-ONFpDbn3UWLIkQDoZ5/s1600/november+2010+230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-BSEfgCeVpDUm_z-COrsUv6CiDiHZhqMt7P_uUYzABgee2gJhgbPkBwt8zOi4cp0pF0HkwQLHc1lEI0W1VITvdJJG4Z7R26AO_natmNsuo_0kjB60VBtdAjGv-ONFpDbn3UWLIkQDoZ5/s320/november+2010+230.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Podium: Nineteen year old Luke Keough on top, with Adam Myerson and Justin Lyndine. Luke took the win both Saturday and Sunday while race promoter Adam was 4th and 2nd.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOoF2k9kx-MdWB72MfdhU2LWcEBfiHS945-p35Yl_DjNt-ymJSfMe3tBRrlRTs1QiSAmBZ4dDa9BE5TJiWH9a3XhAwdm2j-C4MNHmTSCxrZeQAg2E8hm_ktFKa888XXV74KClJhwCDoS6-/s1600/november+2010+233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOoF2k9kx-MdWB72MfdhU2LWcEBfiHS945-p35Yl_DjNt-ymJSfMe3tBRrlRTs1QiSAmBZ4dDa9BE5TJiWH9a3XhAwdm2j-C4MNHmTSCxrZeQAg2E8hm_ktFKa888XXV74KClJhwCDoS6-/s320/november+2010+233.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Thom was filming for Cyclingdirt.com. I asked Thom to make a face as if he was imitating Christopher Walken. This is what I got. Not very Walken, but very Thom. We were the last of the cycling crowd to leave the Dirty Truth Saturday night. At least Thom didn't have to race at 8:30 Sunday.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>The Night Weasels Cometh - Ward Hill, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgryvpKxz8dO5_bS2vs7VvwztclrZW8jksoymyzaTAWkUqNpQKlqnIpwUJ5SMuJljB2Tpcw_sod0K6eboGNkx0IHG0ppf_r_9V0R1UkocRS4yd5X8T6hJP28s3wIYQVKH-BydWRAGeZkbeT/s1600/november+2010+172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgryvpKxz8dO5_bS2vs7VvwztclrZW8jksoymyzaTAWkUqNpQKlqnIpwUJ5SMuJljB2Tpcw_sod0K6eboGNkx0IHG0ppf_r_9V0R1UkocRS4yd5X8T6hJP28s3wIYQVKH-BydWRAGeZkbeT/s400/november+2010+172.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Staging the elite men's race. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uWjI9plJELr_d-S7aMj5Ki593EX6aBKfaYOXYVa901tAXd_VED0P8cJltrUwJPRc1wy3cpCbsv6hoYXDcDVtXbAlyIMw9VTP19AePRsohsFUx5-evzsl2zi7k2QXnOxiR4UnMnYOAM_o/s1600/november+2010+183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uWjI9plJELr_d-S7aMj5Ki593EX6aBKfaYOXYVa901tAXd_VED0P8cJltrUwJPRc1wy3cpCbsv6hoYXDcDVtXbAlyIMw9VTP19AePRsohsFUx5-evzsl2zi7k2QXnOxiR4UnMnYOAM_o/s320/november+2010+183.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Night Weasels are always slightly out of focus.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9suSrS6w95i4VBfWHwLz_6dumUPoAB9heQzZu0BBjihYc9gnvvbfnGKjCs6hkvPR3Xvv4zasxc7UcBnUHlcq47ISzpN_z6KI1rdxwL7ZpX_4k4ZfWYTbTZolcw4YmxBbNqnOddhKsdCy/s1600/november+2010+194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9suSrS6w95i4VBfWHwLz_6dumUPoAB9heQzZu0BBjihYc9gnvvbfnGKjCs6hkvPR3Xvv4zasxc7UcBnUHlcq47ISzpN_z6KI1rdxwL7ZpX_4k4ZfWYTbTZolcw4YmxBbNqnOddhKsdCy/s320/november+2010+194.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lyne and Linnea. Lyne came out of retirement (again) for this one. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sorry I didn't get any shots of you guys during the race.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3M7Ifh9YDXl1-zR8QaBpGlPTae3vPhPc6sAtoA-jga0sOFRTX1t9S0NuA5oU6SP-v2rzNr_wag0qPRUwlr9c-7rM-bvOMjSZG_yhuIUnxFUCndp2HqaQKkKnYnW6r2tgSnTLTwUPG62vV/s1600/november+2010+196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3M7Ifh9YDXl1-zR8QaBpGlPTae3vPhPc6sAtoA-jga0sOFRTX1t9S0NuA5oU6SP-v2rzNr_wag0qPRUwlr9c-7rM-bvOMjSZG_yhuIUnxFUCndp2HqaQKkKnYnW6r2tgSnTLTwUPG62vV/s320/november+2010+196.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Meridith Miller (on the right, if you don't know who she is yet) took the win and received her trophy from Leah the creator (of the trophy, not the entire universe, hence the lower case c). Meridith will be sure to find a prominent place for her Night Weasel's trophy back at home in Colorado. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTERTRlkehyphenhyphenhiJoTb4naAwYnNLL5oA8Sk_spfR1On114MR4Qf45slbkiBahnJyZDL2pnB3vwUza7hnYhiH2SZU-tWfDR3uQ7aRHXEhZ6Lo9KizvxexvncfIqta6GDfWRXXdrwFjApf_sD/s1600/november+2010+206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTERTRlkehyphenhyphenhiJoTb4naAwYnNLL5oA8Sk_spfR1On114MR4Qf45slbkiBahnJyZDL2pnB3vwUza7hnYhiH2SZU-tWfDR3uQ7aRHXEhZ6Lo9KizvxexvncfIqta6GDfWRXXdrwFjApf_sD/s400/november+2010+206.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I like taking photos of the aftermath of races sometimes. Here I used the panorama thingy to take a picture of the course after all the tape was down. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Gloucester (aka New England World Championships)</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfr19S4QW-CByKHsoVVO2dn1Ht-YBY3Zgi5BDAhzTP1al65LY2AM19mGm4KOYJsbeMNSjTRHd-n6YsXus7JJdcPDC2yuCO73QEBH4IaiMYaH050-poVgOyuyWut4hbgOtzdNSMQaRyfLHc/s1600/november+2010+100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfr19S4QW-CByKHsoVVO2dn1Ht-YBY3Zgi5BDAhzTP1al65LY2AM19mGm4KOYJsbeMNSjTRHd-n6YsXus7JJdcPDC2yuCO73QEBH4IaiMYaH050-poVgOyuyWut4hbgOtzdNSMQaRyfLHc/s400/november+2010+100.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Curtis Boivin in the 35plus race</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZ-JdCXwYHQvzg7EkB6RVaCJ6njTHykAtqyXFLRtFVfr6umrm9wZW9bFbbfj5pa669kjJ5Q6-YVUhgsAAN7gK1PpTcEoipzvZP1BFspCXlihxyHbcOh7MMFjMgFPNjrhgyYcyeha57ipm/s1600/november+2010+115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZ-JdCXwYHQvzg7EkB6RVaCJ6njTHykAtqyXFLRtFVfr6umrm9wZW9bFbbfj5pa669kjJ5Q6-YVUhgsAAN7gK1PpTcEoipzvZP1BFspCXlihxyHbcOh7MMFjMgFPNjrhgyYcyeha57ipm/s400/november+2010+115.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Waiting for the whistle, elite men</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnK7EowVDxgE6JqAeV6rVfwahgX6l6NepiGv-d6CmIiMJSLt6ZNCKdb9DLw9d0wk95hXJReh18ajY6fnNHPvtCOz-cNRo4eYD2H0EkKIWAMJlvOiS-XmdjFZ5MBaDQdK778a5Kx73i38pJ/s1600/november+2010+120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnK7EowVDxgE6JqAeV6rVfwahgX6l6NepiGv-d6CmIiMJSLt6ZNCKdb9DLw9d0wk95hXJReh18ajY6fnNHPvtCOz-cNRo4eYD2H0EkKIWAMJlvOiS-XmdjFZ5MBaDQdK778a5Kx73i38pJ/s320/november+2010+120.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Everyone was dropping dollars for the riders on the run up past the beer tent. I upped the ante by adding a drink ticket. I think it was Shaun Adamson who later scooped both in one swipe. I really didn't need that last beer anyway.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsqaamO3jlLSR0HPbsUnt6cE50V_PSrgDopO1Rtj2xg4DmPsbsJoRrRPucXt1Wvxw3DsQR2MmVmBc2evzJ2rUdhw0cuFmw-X3wyN6b7XfVBV4HtZQDOp0dUF9xBWpHnrh1hti3Dcy86ayX/s1600/november+2010+105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsqaamO3jlLSR0HPbsUnt6cE50V_PSrgDopO1Rtj2xg4DmPsbsJoRrRPucXt1Wvxw3DsQR2MmVmBc2evzJ2rUdhw0cuFmw-X3wyN6b7XfVBV4HtZQDOp0dUF9xBWpHnrh1hti3Dcy86ayX/s320/november+2010+105.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It's all smiles on the starting line on Day 2 - Manny Goguen and Peter Bradshaw</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltpTWrhDZaTgi1b7JQLYdukvRh22X8UnGY8NQQasqKFot0aIkg4lyAdle5g7IuNyvfk196nj3l1QeHS68sGRkxQtYt3z1xgh-I7qu8DgaXNUhf8m7C3qniZGU5_A6CipHKvsZOWKrTPXH/s1600/november+2010+127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltpTWrhDZaTgi1b7JQLYdukvRh22X8UnGY8NQQasqKFot0aIkg4lyAdle5g7IuNyvfk196nj3l1QeHS68sGRkxQtYt3z1xgh-I7qu8DgaXNUhf8m7C3qniZGU5_A6CipHKvsZOWKrTPXH/s320/november+2010+127.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Larry Longo, race announcer</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJrZCa2WZFadhslmr8C-V2eSRagRnH38-hBYjIqTB_IUTsnIWt2lr2of9MIkzzXNjJWEmVVKIUMT1avtAgOr87gRXTOvao0IVyXB-TCCnNHh7pWyaBog2j054qreBI5cszkVOgaGPtlxwN/s1600/november+2010+129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJrZCa2WZFadhslmr8C-V2eSRagRnH38-hBYjIqTB_IUTsnIWt2lr2of9MIkzzXNjJWEmVVKIUMT1avtAgOr87gRXTOvao0IVyXB-TCCnNHh7pWyaBog2j054qreBI5cszkVOgaGPtlxwN/s320/november+2010+129.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Solobreak sporting the StartFinish Productions T-shirt. We closed the beer tent on Day 1.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPcvkG63nfsXxaeRvSoT96VbPr3bpnOGGIP9OSNPSo4gMBX4cbP32s1L65sqiFbDBWEgTgX3YNBEjCf-rY_djVLXxAPSlhPEgrd0WS3VqiLtwW-eRt1W-I6Ul8XgEfxW5gta_ZpTcX54dL/s1600/november+2010+130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPcvkG63nfsXxaeRvSoT96VbPr3bpnOGGIP9OSNPSo4gMBX4cbP32s1L65sqiFbDBWEgTgX3YNBEjCf-rY_djVLXxAPSlhPEgrd0WS3VqiLtwW-eRt1W-I6Ul8XgEfxW5gta_ZpTcX54dL/s320/november+2010+130.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Who's stuff could this be? National champion, Sox fan, and Red Bull helmet. No, not Ryan Trebon.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilEELI61k1u86bSxqoQTvUb8NR6pO2YQZLeNcRZwbag03AXCjMlWrX7R9bJpUcgKiAT2UB0eVbJ_JpgP5fHBURInVkMyOqi0mnybumQLDrxsxp4fcAjVleMW-lHG34xe3Nrl3DSN_Xu45h/s1600/november+2010+131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilEELI61k1u86bSxqoQTvUb8NR6pO2YQZLeNcRZwbag03AXCjMlWrX7R9bJpUcgKiAT2UB0eVbJ_JpgP5fHBURInVkMyOqi0mnybumQLDrxsxp4fcAjVleMW-lHG34xe3Nrl3DSN_Xu45h/s400/november+2010+131.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Meredith Miller over the barriers. The pink kit was a special issue for breast cancer awareness month.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq3EKT6EwH2_PSJGHfkyB1QnRDE8iI1QNlzhzg4cZHMGxAQR9aY3SFMULZ7I-rpIIvOardM1Yn4EpA7YUkZkilZV3h4QjbCs25H1le5EhnGe4ekrUMJKA1suImQ9etag4O5SkKnr_9e7vW/s1600/november+2010+133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq3EKT6EwH2_PSJGHfkyB1QnRDE8iI1QNlzhzg4cZHMGxAQR9aY3SFMULZ7I-rpIIvOardM1Yn4EpA7YUkZkilZV3h4QjbCs25H1le5EhnGe4ekrUMJKA1suImQ9etag4O5SkKnr_9e7vW/s400/november+2010+133.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mo Bruno Roy. She is out of focus because she is going so fast on that run up. Not cause I am a lousy photog or anything like that.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixCuKG0EIG5_AlOjR0DhX5nJIPCY68S_4tqriihGIPowqk4deAU8YofNx6KMMMc3osOil1rX9r6hBUv0E1zyOGOBN83N6evXy0Jfh5aMHLvHh2OY6Xj67CGkQJktuf4i6WthyphenhyphenwRChDvJv/s1600/november+2010+143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixCuKG0EIG5_AlOjR0DhX5nJIPCY68S_4tqriihGIPowqk4deAU8YofNx6KMMMc3osOil1rX9r6hBUv0E1zyOGOBN83N6evXy0Jfh5aMHLvHh2OY6Xj67CGkQJktuf4i6WthyphenhyphenwRChDvJv/s400/november+2010+143.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Manny Goguen on the run up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRj_Wh8QyGcKWNRpU_lGzZ-BkMG8j_w8Z_6-6tXyAh8lA_P8kw4_-FPJhAjcQeipzXvdJ_cPs3moH5vFEPkc22zeMM-0K6tIcX8FxfgJ5EmrDDQJMtUCIYcXcX3yX2gBcHxOiBnmH3z9rV/s1600/november+2010+163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRj_Wh8QyGcKWNRpU_lGzZ-BkMG8j_w8Z_6-6tXyAh8lA_P8kw4_-FPJhAjcQeipzXvdJ_cPs3moH5vFEPkc22zeMM-0K6tIcX8FxfgJ5EmrDDQJMtUCIYcXcX3yX2gBcHxOiBnmH3z9rV/s320/november+2010+163.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Post race with Jamey Driscoll and Jeremy Powers</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-lx9b-2KdArN4f6f8YvrjlN-K9OFQTTGguPl_COg1zRFE4wn5sMnkjLc_1GBBoVQ7VkiPTNZMdfJVUVpzWzT_mmzKbryFrzZOYnIQFMrkUKxZiurGMJIljgZG7v5v1dxQk0RncIFSi1Vi/s1600/november+2010+164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-lx9b-2KdArN4f6f8YvrjlN-K9OFQTTGguPl_COg1zRFE4wn5sMnkjLc_1GBBoVQ7VkiPTNZMdfJVUVpzWzT_mmzKbryFrzZOYnIQFMrkUKxZiurGMJIljgZG7v5v1dxQk0RncIFSi1Vi/s320/november+2010+164.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A well deserved beer from Great Brewers for Meredith Miller.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>The TD Bank Mayor's Cup, Boston, Massachusetts</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This was a fun day: I raced Suckerbrook cross in the morning then watched the Mayor's Cup on the way home. The light this day was weird due to the overcast and as a result the photos are just so so. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Gppv_5gNxkHN-J4oqyHZjcX0diBzE82snfnH8UUL_yXB-qv08Wi4roxVYbg-hPX3N7xNfN5Gu1H9jZLgbLLh-JiouVuq5yZ1jjEkLfcLvpnXN6-nCZ1BXr8r3tVzbmc_f_e4fJqy81xw/s1600/november+2010+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Gppv_5gNxkHN-J4oqyHZjcX0diBzE82snfnH8UUL_yXB-qv08Wi4roxVYbg-hPX3N7xNfN5Gu1H9jZLgbLLh-JiouVuq5yZ1jjEkLfcLvpnXN6-nCZ1BXr8r3tVzbmc_f_e4fJqy81xw/s400/november+2010+024.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The women's field early in the race.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Z6gRv09jMT8BfJ7_8gUvZOycOJhB9D_94YvJBsCxDhLzXAqlgZLyWgCZCOCGH39AXEyN7KpcxNuzByhS6NQoOfbaKRQNW2siCdJFQdHKXgnOjHByQi8_wkS-9GzvQDK3jHWhUc0052Jf/s1600/november+2010+029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Z6gRv09jMT8BfJ7_8gUvZOycOJhB9D_94YvJBsCxDhLzXAqlgZLyWgCZCOCGH39AXEyN7KpcxNuzByhS6NQoOfbaKRQNW2siCdJFQdHKXgnOjHByQi8_wkS-9GzvQDK3jHWhUc0052Jf/s400/november+2010+029.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Women's race was neutralized for several laps due to a crash</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWlqLgy3JKmrBPFXYR-uvahwqrqhx6VoYbYkrVk6Aorlj41NAJt3Ppshi1H2Zf5qQgV51oDxZdezcRuTgvCi4fJx5q3Kdv1yLfzGqHcQQd79T4-crGYNBn7XtnZ698Je6mErV4zBMtjJU/s1600/november+2010+044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWlqLgy3JKmrBPFXYR-uvahwqrqhx6VoYbYkrVk6Aorlj41NAJt3Ppshi1H2Zf5qQgV51oDxZdezcRuTgvCi4fJx5q3Kdv1yLfzGqHcQQd79T4-crGYNBn7XtnZ698Je6mErV4zBMtjJU/s320/november+2010+044.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Adam Myerson is already thinking about cross season here on the start line</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyjAqXr0qh6f_upaHJL4kslOp8cmRN7jXyEA9UDxu6gY6hsg7xqSzIYUCU3He3U2cZKLrrySa-2DiqWKj-v015uMpeAR0YSa8KyxA1-b51LixFtVK1l1zIpwHOgr9g4OaoApdvQq77nMvi/s1600/november+2010+048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyjAqXr0qh6f_upaHJL4kslOp8cmRN7jXyEA9UDxu6gY6hsg7xqSzIYUCU3He3U2cZKLrrySa-2DiqWKj-v015uMpeAR0YSa8KyxA1-b51LixFtVK1l1zIpwHOgr9g4OaoApdvQq77nMvi/s400/november+2010+048.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The decisive break has formed and local hero in the making GavinMannion is at the front of it. He finished the race in second place.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqT8Frai9nzLTraZ203QIJwuc8YvQTgPXiRCLjeae_g4aaVsT8BR-yRO8FWhpfqBZbXNSnnBH7T3fkNBDaArMKuEE7mlttfoOM0Su2rW6e37UL1-d5i2gZdOlxaF7tXNGDSak7YxQnabRU/s1600/november+2010+084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqT8Frai9nzLTraZ203QIJwuc8YvQTgPXiRCLjeae_g4aaVsT8BR-yRO8FWhpfqBZbXNSnnBH7T3fkNBDaArMKuEE7mlttfoOM0Su2rW6e37UL1-d5i2gZdOlxaF7tXNGDSak7YxQnabRU/s320/november+2010+084.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Luke and Allain didn't make the break but they did finish the race. The look on Allain's face should give you some idea how hard this race was. They averaged over 29 mph for about 90 minutes</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_IvyKtuQlre4pmCsc8vWTOig5ch91CR0jGLUpe-FAMM5YJlALFVgZsAPfKXT1F2u4nzDlMO9uwjuqbuRoW3rkn6vuoktnEBUmZoiyV_J-6s329KPYHURgU7GLlXsh1cX6yvNTNN494-tJ/s1600/november+2010+085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_IvyKtuQlre4pmCsc8vWTOig5ch91CR0jGLUpe-FAMM5YJlALFVgZsAPfKXT1F2u4nzDlMO9uwjuqbuRoW3rkn6vuoktnEBUmZoiyV_J-6s329KPYHURgU7GLlXsh1cX6yvNTNN494-tJ/s320/november+2010+085.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dave Towle interviews race winner Daniel Halloway after the race</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That wraps up this edition of Cyclo-cross Smorgasbord with the Mayor's Cup crit thrown in as well. Maybe someday I'll learn how to use my camera properly and the percentage of decent shots will go up. There's still a couple of weeks in this cross season left for me to figure it all out. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'll race at Sterling at least one day, maybe both. Then, I'll be announcing both days at NBX. And to cap it all off, I'll be bringing the PA system to the Ice Weasels for open mic heckling. I don't want to be the announcer at Ice Weasels, I just want to race and party. Like last year it will be a free for all. I'll have at least two microphones set up and 800 watts of power so you can take your heckling to the next level. But this year we are going to listen to my tunes for at least an hour before Thom puts on the Pere Ubu!!!</div>startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-26288023588824024772010-11-04T20:15:00.000-04:002010-11-04T20:15:30.819-04:00This Just In.....NEWS FLASH: There will be beer at<a href="http://www.bikereg.com/events/ConfList.asp?EventID=11819"> Coonamessett</a>!!!!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv8D-wgJKh9oTwOJ7fKbZHVEVxOXm0hBrlszzh87rYbsyqKnkt4ZksK-9idvZXW7AlEjDeCwUJ8fZtyC05TUtlP44YQmdM8ZgIfaa91Wysy2nVt1K9TUvVUiXPyUtEEtCzGUZuUz6uw_WH/s1600/siteHeader.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv8D-wgJKh9oTwOJ7fKbZHVEVxOXm0hBrlszzh87rYbsyqKnkt4ZksK-9idvZXW7AlEjDeCwUJ8fZtyC05TUtlP44YQmdM8ZgIfaa91Wysy2nVt1K9TUvVUiXPyUtEEtCzGUZuUz6uw_WH/s1600/siteHeader.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Bill and George Sykes are putting on the Coonamessett Cyclo-cross this year and I volunteered months ago to help them out by finding a beer sponsor. It was looking grim there for a while, but the good folks at <a href="http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/">Harpoon</a> have saved the day at nearly the last minute. We will have varieties of Harpoon for sale and as an added incentivewe will havew a six pack for all four race winners (as long as they are 21 or over). The cost per beer is yet to be determined but I think you will find it quite reasonable. If there is any beer left at the end of Thursday, we will use the rest to sweeten the prize lists Saturday and Sunday in Plymouth. Unfortunately we can't serve beer on school grounds Saturday and Sunday so there will be no beer tent. And remember, both races are at Plymouth South on Long Pond Road this year. Don't go to North.<br />
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If you haven't been to the Coonamessett Cyclo-cross before, it is a great venue for a race and the course is super fun. Not exactly UCI-legal but not quite jungle cross either. And the beer tent goes right through the course. Err, strike that, the course goes through the beer tent.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.bikereg.com/events/ConfList.asp?EventID=11819">pre-reg for Coonamessett</a> is looking a little light so far so this might be your best chance ever to podium. Join us for the first ever mid-week daytime race in New England at Coonamessett then follow that up with a full weekend in Plymouth. .startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-8295553940302978852010-09-23T23:49:00.001-04:002010-09-23T23:51:51.368-04:00Verge New England Cyclocross Series #1 and #2, VermontWe have some great venues for cross in New England but this one is the most scenic (sorry Gloucester):<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgltWR-DyqkuBXwP8jnhsmibaQd5cgQ28T0Hb86awsucLQfmkBroFVOk12dIodjzalj76nPw98fdeqg2oGm6EvDYvYgarvHzBcvQklRhV2HpSv4y_BxmMa2fj-eazZ9BbFbPt2J7L9l4wPG/s1600/sept+22+2010+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgltWR-DyqkuBXwP8jnhsmibaQd5cgQ28T0Hb86awsucLQfmkBroFVOk12dIodjzalj76nPw98fdeqg2oGm6EvDYvYgarvHzBcvQklRhV2HpSv4y_BxmMa2fj-eazZ9BbFbPt2J7L9l4wPG/s400/sept+22+2010+011.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The view from the top is even better, but I didn't have my camera with me then</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>In the elite men's ranks, it was the Tim Johnson show both days as no one else could hold his wheel. The cast of characters that tried included the cream of the New England crop as well as Danish, Italian, and Canadian contenders. Tim, the current US National Champion, simply rode everyone off his wheel within the first two laps of racing both days. I guess it was worth it to miss the national pro championships for two wins. Here is Tim post-race Sunday:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_igjDZH7V8ej9zApwf8QpxuJwFeRkZAN3bc955azI6JZaaWWmKd5ZTVukReE1ZiOWtXi22p-yA6EFRJ1BCJHqfC5ByAm_CG9ObjV0sopSNSGFsIlJfefGTHgT7kvGKqLW2wApUABq0xD/s1600/sept+22+2010+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_igjDZH7V8ej9zApwf8QpxuJwFeRkZAN3bc955azI6JZaaWWmKd5ZTVukReE1ZiOWtXi22p-yA6EFRJ1BCJHqfC5ByAm_CG9ObjV0sopSNSGFsIlJfefGTHgT7kvGKqLW2wApUABq0xD/s400/sept+22+2010+018.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The women's elite races were more competitive and saw first time winners at the UCI level. On Saturday the new <a href="http://www.crossresults.com/">Crossresults.com</a> team took their first UCI and Verge victories with Sally Annis. The <a href="http://www.ladiesfirstracing.com/">Ladies First</a> crew was well represented also and took second spot with Crystal Anthony. Mo Bruno Roy (Bob's Red Mill) and Crystal rode together until the end and they had a very close sprint for second and third a little more than half a minute after Sally crossed the line. Crystal surprised all, maybe even Mo, by leading it out and gently shutting the door on Mo in an out of the saddle sprint that didn't quite follow a strait line to the banner. Mo tried to go by on the right but Crystal wisely took that line away with a gradual fade to the right that was just enough to close the door but not so much that the officials took offense. Neither did Mo for that matter. It was more savvy than I would have expected from a triathlete with relatively little road sprinting experience.<br />
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Day two for the women was an open book with both Sally and Mo not taking part. Sally was at the Portsmouth crit and Mo was making preparations for Cross Vegas. The Ladies First team took full advantage and, along with Sara Breznick Zocchi (Crossresults.com) and Rebecca Blatt (Silver Bull) separated themselves from the field. SBZ was in the lead group until just before the last lap started but had a mechanical and lost several places while in the pit. Rebecca also lost several spots and fell out of podium contention while making a pit stop of her own. In the end it was Ladies First sweeping the top four spots: Andrea Smith, Ann D'Ambruoso, Christina Tamilio, and Crystal Anthony. SBZ and Rebecca rounded out the top six.<br />
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The Masters 35 plus races had a familiar look to them with Roger Aspholm (Westwood Velo), Johnny Bold, and Kevin Hines (both Corner Cycle) setting the pace. Roger took the win by comfortable margins both days with Kevin second both days. On Saturday, Bold was third, but on Sunday Kurt Perham (Bikeman.com) showed excellent form in taking third with Jonny just off the podium. It looks like it is going to be another battle in the Verge series this year, but Roger has the early advantage with 8 races to go. Look for Jonny to get stronger as he recovers from a nasty crash at Masters Road Nationals a month or so ago. Kevin is probably in top form having recently captured a silver medal at Masters Mountain Bike Worlds, it remains to be seen if he is already at peak form or still building. Here is Kevin, Jonny, and team mate Jamey Tosca warming up on the trainers:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3KPoD_MI27CV3yHmX0DPtAOOYhah5LKedzcX2WV4cEwCHD_F500q4XPiZ2w_j3UXsiSe-g5mkOJiFSinKCL8s4WgmHwpD9oJxu_Gh1q4Zy1W9nIqL9xE-76sW1OxIGtGP4aTdURq7ZM5x/s1600/sept+22+2010+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3KPoD_MI27CV3yHmX0DPtAOOYhah5LKedzcX2WV4cEwCHD_F500q4XPiZ2w_j3UXsiSe-g5mkOJiFSinKCL8s4WgmHwpD9oJxu_Gh1q4Zy1W9nIqL9xE-76sW1OxIGtGP4aTdURq7ZM5x/s400/sept+22+2010+016.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">I have no idea what they are looking at.</div><br />
While we are at it, here is <a href="http://www.gewilli.com/">Gewilli</a> doing the same:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81IAIhllpTBLhyMjPsQd7XNPIUauQbOI7WVzbWT9ru01znMZDaaGH_NVxCvse4OaaCxYilgjPW75ExuqcZiYgUI2G7aa68t96gRQaASNLdiuwDaS0S5864dYd-E3j3nCSg4-RQyxkjycl/s1600/sept+22+2010+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81IAIhllpTBLhyMjPsQd7XNPIUauQbOI7WVzbWT9ru01znMZDaaGH_NVxCvse4OaaCxYilgjPW75ExuqcZiYgUI2G7aa68t96gRQaASNLdiuwDaS0S5864dYd-E3j3nCSg4-RQyxkjycl/s400/sept+22+2010+014.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Those guys must have been looking at Gewilli</div><br />
Saturday was the first time I have tried to both race (Cat 4 masters) and announce at a Verge race. I don't think I'll try it again because I was exhausted by the end of the day. Announcing takes more energy than you might think and all the caffeine in Vermont can't help you sort out the many random thoughts that pop into your head while announcing, some of which are useful and some of which are just stupid and need to be filtered before they reach your mouth. Fortunately, Alan Cote was the other announcer so it wasn't so obvious (I hope) that I was dragging by the time the elite men's race was going. I decided not to let that happen again Sunday and skipped my race so I could do a better job announcing. In Saturday's race I was doing ok despite a course that didn't suit me very well. It seemed like it was all climbing. Let's just say that my power to weight ratio is skewed a little more toward weight than it should be and leave it at that. I was sitting at about mid field halfway through the race when I rolled my rear tire. It was only a 6 inch section so I rolled it back on and soft pedalled to the pit. Unfortunately, I had just passed the pit when it rolled and had to do just about the longest ride to the pit that was possible on the course. I lost a bunch of places but Mark <a href="http://www.bicyclesupportbymark.com/webpages/racers.html">(Bicycle Support by Mark)</a> got me out of the pit quickly once I got there. Back in the race, I made up several of the spots that I had lost, but still finished pretty far down and didn't make my goal of finishing in the top half of the field. Oh well. There's lots more races coming up and I feel stronger than last year. We'll see how it goes at something flat like Sucker Brook.<br />
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That's all for now. Sorry I am not doing recaps of all the other categories but I need to cut down the length of time it takes me to get these things done this season or I'm not likely to do any blogging at all.<br />
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Thanks for reading, and leave me a comment if you made it this far. It's the only way I have of feeling the love since I have no idea how to put a hit counter on this thing (anyone?).startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-62761561319026669652010-08-24T00:18:00.001-04:002010-09-22T22:54:02.261-04:00Cycling in Heaven (almost): D2R2In my heaven there are no hills to ride up, only descents. But in the real world Newton's First Law of Cycling applies: for every uphill there is an equal and opposite downhill! As a result, you have to do a little work to get to the reward. Other than that, the <a href="http://www.franklinlandtrust.org/randonnee.html">D2R2</a> is cycling in heaven. There are almost no cars, beautiful views, plentiful food and water (in heaven there are going to be beer stops, I just know it), and super nice people volunteering and watching. Even the drivers of the very few cars that we saw were totally cool when they had to wait for us. <br />
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I signed up for this ride a couple of months ago and had been looking forward to it for a while. I have never in my 24 years as a "serious" cyclist done more than 100 miles in a day and the last time<br />
I did that was years ago. So, I opted for the shorter of the two rides, 100km. Part of the reasoning was the 3 extra hours of sleep I would be able to get Saturday morning before driving most of the way across the state. But I also knew that if this course was as hard as the<a href="http://solobreak.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html"> bloggage</a> from last year indicated, this was no place for me to try and set a new personal best for distance, time, or anything else.<br />
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After checking in I found the <a href="http://www.cyclelodge.com/">Cycle Lodge</a> crew (Jim, Beth, Barry, Dave, Simms, etc) and headed out with them at a very reasonable 9:15 AM. Those on the long ride (180km) had mostly left around 6:00. The first hill came after about 10 minutes on flat farm roads and it was an eye opener. I'm not a great judge of steepness but this was steep, maybe 10%? More importantly, it was mostly soft sand with plenty of stretches that just sucked up whatever speed you might have generated on a more forgiving section. Plus there were just enough loose rocks on the surface that you were sure to bump into one at the worst possible time. After switching tracks one too many times looking for a good line, and trying to get around others already hiking it, I succumbed to the sand and had to walk quite a bit of it. At this point we were about 20 minutes into what I expected could be a 7 hour ride and I was already questioning my choice of gear (39x28), tires (35 mm city tires) and footwear (road shoes and pedals). Oh oh, this is going to be a really bad day if this is how its going to be. At least I had my trusty steed, my Indy Fab Planet X cross bike. Although not as efficient as my road bike, it was the only sensible choice for this ride although I would soon realize that cantilever cross brakes with last years worn out pads barely have the stopping power needed for 15% grade descents with 90 degree corners at the bottom.<br />
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Fortunately, this first climb was the worst climb of the day, although not the steeepest. I managed to keep the pedals turning on every other climb but I couldn't even begin to count how many times I double checked to make sure I was really in my lowest gear. I rode almost every hill bottomed out in the 28 and checked two or three more times on many of the hills looking for one more gear only to feel the limit screw. Better than feeling the spokes I guess.<br />
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I can't really remember all of the hills now, but we basically headed northward, upward, downward, upward, and downward until we were well into Vermont. I noticed that I didn't see a single town line sign on the entire route, but I did notice a granite marker for the Mass/Vermont line that looked like it has been there since Shay's Rebellion (i.e. a very long time ago if you don't know your Western Mass colonial-era history).<br />
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If you missed the granite marker, you knew you were in Vermont when you reached the covered bridge which is the turnaround point for the short ride and the lunch stop. Here is a picture of the diabolical genius who created the D2R2, Sandy, in front of the bridge:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTnTWXtWgc3iRBUdFKewo81Qlb_1Da_M2kdiJEY-klHRRHQ86EWtrSKfkqX46qWZ_VxNYVlZSCyIueAl9Xhqv-wdmC7owc0kb0jKvU1KbDbfTGNce6j-1aStOPizMyGWTWMR9ZDxuuKZPu/s1600/sept+2010+058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTnTWXtWgc3iRBUdFKewo81Qlb_1Da_M2kdiJEY-klHRRHQ86EWtrSKfkqX46qWZ_VxNYVlZSCyIueAl9Xhqv-wdmC7owc0kb0jKvU1KbDbfTGNce6j-1aStOPizMyGWTWMR9ZDxuuKZPu/s640/sept+2010+058.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br />
By this point I had let the Cycle Lodge crew go ahead so I could just enjoy the ride without having to suffer on the climbs. An extra gear would have helped, but I had decided that I was just out for a tour at an easy pace. The last I saw of them was as they pulled out of the lunch stop. But I ran into a team mate, Steve Curren, and we rode the rest together and even found another Mass Bay guy, Peter Lastnameidontknowyet, to ride with. None of us are naturally gifted climbers so we made a pretty good group. We also seemed to pass and then get passed by the same 6 or 7 riders the rest of the day so they were like part of the group too. After the lunch stop the long version of D2R2 goes strait up a long hill but the 100km version mercifully follows the Green River downstream for several miles so lunch can digest. Then there is a sudden switch back turn and it goes straight up hill again. The good news here though, is that the ice cream truck is parked near the top. I haven't yelled "ice cream truck" so loud since I was about 10 years old. <a href="http://www.bartshomemade.com/">Bart's ice cream</a> is almost an institution in Western Mass. Their Mass Mocha flavor (get it? <a href="http://www.massmoca.org/">MOCA</a>= Museum Of Contemporary Art in North Adams) has chocolate covered espresso beans in it and I figured I could use some of that for the rest of the ride. Knowing that hard exersise and dairy are sometines not a good combination for me, I ate most of the beans and less than half the ice cream, but that was enough to make it well worth the $3 investment.<br />
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For some reason, I started feeling better at this point (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine">caffeine</a> is my friend) and pushed the climbs a little more. Apex Orchard had free apples and peaches for us but you had to climb a nasty paved hill to get to them. As with all things D2R2, the reward is well worth the effort. Then you get to descend and that is something I think I do well. Some skills I guess I developed to make up for sucky climbing ability, good equipment, and thus far never having a serious crash on a descent probably all help. But the key is weight to surface area ratio. At 205 pounds, I generate momentum pretty fast and can usually pass smaller guys even if they pedal. Plus, I'm the master of the slingshot. I love descending and D2R2 has some places you can let it fly. There are also some places you should definitely not let it fly. I probably got lucky once or twice because I had no problems and never flatted (I've definitely jinxed myself for next year now). There were lots of people with flats stopped on the side of the road on the descents. Fortunately, everyone that I saw was ok and well equipped for repairs.<br />
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At some point the climbing was mostly done with and there were only a few turns still to be followed on the cue sheet. I knew I would make it to the end but every few minutes I ended up saying to myself " I'm really glad I didn't try to do the 180km." I must have said it 5 more times while I was drinking post-ride beers from Berkshire Brewing Co. But today, two days later, I'm already starting to think about next year and maybe doing the long version. I must be nuts, I know better. I did the right thing this year. One year older isn't going to help. <br />
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The post ride spread was great, as was the <a href="http://www.berkshirebrewingcompany.com/">beer</a>. <a href="http://www.solobreak.blogspot.com/">Solobreak</a> bought me a beer, and Steve didn't want his so I had his and mine. Three nice beers after 7 hours in the saddle and I was feeling very mellow. I managed to lose about three hours in what seemed like 20 minutes. All of a sudden it was time to drive to Easthampton to go to <a href="http://www.cycle-smart.com/blog/">Adam Myerson's</a> "How to Train for Cyclocross" seminar. It was 6:30, the seminar started at 7:00 and my GPS said it would take half an hour to get there if all goes perfectly. GPSs are amazing (thanks Mom). I almost got Solobreak to join Steve and I under the pretense that he could heckle Adam during his seminar. But in the end Foley couldn't bear the thought of the $25 entry fee so it was just me and Steve. We got there right on time while Adam was still working out the tech details of the power point presentation. He must not have been an AV Club kid in high school, although it wouldn't surprise me if he was. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that cycling generally has a much higher percen12 tage of AV Club and <a href="http://www.umass.edu/band/">marching band</a> geeks than other sports, but that is a topic for another day, I still need to find time to practice my saxophone tonight.<br />
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Adam got it going while I poured us some beer. Fortunately, Al Donahue had some nice commemerative glassware left over from the <a href="http://grandfundo.com/">Gran Fundo</a> so we didn't have to drink Allagash Triple out of dixie cups. Now, at this point I had been up for 18 hours, driven 200 miles from Cape Cod to Western Mass, ridden the toughest 65 miles of my life, drank three and a half beers, haven't showered, and Adam breaks out the power tap files from some races he can't even remember in 2004. Zzzzzzz. Actually, I was so psyched to be talking cyclocross with Adam and all the other bike geeks at the seminar, that I was wide awake the whole time. The main point of Adam's talk was that you have to do your training for cross at highly variable power outputs. Cyclocross isn't like a time trial so don't train for time trialing. That's the condensed version, you'll have to sign up for next years seminar and skills camp to get the details. <br />
After a quick stop for beer and frites at the Dirty Truth the day was done and we found a hotel to crash.<br />
I have a couple of weeks off from announcing now but I be co-anouncing the Vermont UCI cyclocross-Verge weekend with Alan Cote on September 18-19. So, I'm going to race early in the day then jump on the mic with Alan and talk the rest of the day (both days). I can't beleive it but this will be the first time I have ever raced or announced within the borders of Vermont. <br />
And if anyone is looking for something to do next Sunday August 29th, come see my band at the Marshfield Fair Roots and Blues Festival. We play at 1:30 and the music only gets better from there.<br />
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Thanks for hanging out with me at startfinishbikenews, see you soon.startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-18580299543011549832010-04-21T23:13:00.000-04:002010-04-21T23:13:22.207-04:00Rick Newhouse Criterium - Ninigret RI, April 17, 2010Spring time at Ninigret RI generally means nasty conditions for bike racing and after the Chris Hinds "Sunshine Criterium" at Ninigret two weeks previously actually lived up to its intentionally ironic name, there was little chance the Arc-en-ciel sponsored Rick Newhouse memorial race would also luck out with the weather. As per usual, it was a cold, rainy, and windy day at Ninigret but nowhere near as bad as was predicted. The <a href="http://cyclocosm.com/2010/01/calculate-your-jens-factor/">Jens Factor</a> was never worse than JF3.<br />
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Arc-en-ciel racing put on a full slate of races with proceeds from the race going to their former teammate's family. Considering the predicted weather, the early season schedule, and competion from other races, the turn out was good with about 160 participants.<br />
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<strong><em>Category 5:</em></strong> The day started with 15 Cat 5s. Three or four of them seemed to do the bulk of the work setting the pace at the front of the field while everyone else was along for the ride. That isn't atypical for a Cat 5 race where no one has much, if any, tactical experience. For Alejandro Cifuentes and Anthony Clark, it worked out well placing 1st and 2nd after doing way more than their share of the work throughout the race. One other rider set the pace for 4 laps in one long pull but over extended himself and couldn't recover as the race went past him. After the race I tried to explain that he should take shorter pulls and not wear himself out past the point of no return like that. I think he got it. Hopefully we will see him at the races again. <br />
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<strong><em>Masters55:</em></strong> 10 Riders took the line in the 55plus race including former national champion Mark Hagen (CCB). Hagen and Ed Deming (Mystic Velo) got away off the front of the race in the first half of the 55 minute race while the chase group was trimmed to 4 including Demings two Mystic Velo teammates, Jim Themig and Chip O'Lari, who obviously weren't going to chase. Hagen and Deming built up a lead of a couple of minutes by the end of the race. Knowing that Hagen is a time trial specialist, and a very good one, we all expected that he would try to drop Deming before the finish but it didn't happen. At the finish, Deming came around Hagen to take the win.<br />
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<strong><em>Cat 3/4:</em></strong> Within the first 10 minutes of the 55 minute race, Scott Glowa (Svelte Cycles) and Gary Aspnes (Horst-Benidorm) took a flier off the front of the field to shake things up. Aspnes has been on great form recently and rode away from the field at the Myles Standish Road Race the previous week. But in my memory Glowa has never been a break away type rider. He will be from now on, at least on flat courses like Ninigret. Working together, they built up about a minute lead which is approaching half a lap on the 0.9 mile Ninigret loop. <a href="http://www.gewilli.com/">Geoff Williams</a> and his tream mates from Providence Velo tried to real the break back in but without success. Both leaders had one teammate in the field to help control the pace. After the race, several riders mentioned how Spike McLaughlin (Horst) did an especially good job blocking for the breakaway. It isn't often you hear other racers compliment someone's blocking so he must have been doing something right out there. At the finish, after about 45 minutes of two man team trialing, Glowa outsprinted Aspnes for the win by less than a bike length.<br />
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<strong><em>Masters45: </em></strong>I could try to tell you what happened in this one, but I'd rather link you to the race winner,<a href="http://solobreak.blogspot.com/2010/04/winning.html#links"> Dave "Solobreak" Foley</a> (BOB), so you can get the first hand version . I'll just say that he played it perfectly, getting everyone else to watch him roll away from the break away in the closing seconds of the race. Well done! <br />
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<strong><em>Masters35:</em></strong> When David Potter (Arc-en-ciel), Tyler Monroe (CCB), and Tom Francis (Bikebarn) took off the front it looked like it was going to be for the long hall. They built up ove a minute lead by working smoothly together throughout the race. Ciaran Mangan (CCB) tried to get across in the closing laps without dragging anyone along with him but his move was shut down when the host club (Arc-en-ciel) went to the front and picked up the pace to ensure that 4th place would be that easy to snag. David Potter took the sprint from 200 yards out to give the host club the victory while Tom Francis took second, Monroe third. Ernie Tautkus, who had won three prime sprints for 6-packs of Newport Storm earlier in the day took the field sprint for 4th.<br />
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<strong><em>Pro1,2,3:</em></strong> This was the third race of the day for a few of the riders including Tautkus and Aspnes as well as a couple of the Arc-en-ciel riders. Surprisingly, this was not an especially tactical race. It stayed together from start to finish with no serious break attempts. The finish was a mass gallup to the line that crossed most of the width of the road. Squirting through the flailing bikes to resach the line first was 16-year old Evan Kirk (CLNoonan). A split second (literally 0.1 seconds according to the official results) was Ryan Serbel (CCNS) followed by the man of the day, Ernie Tautkus (CCNS) just another 0.1 seconds behind. It is worth noting that Evan Kirk was sprinting on restricted junior gears which equate to something like a 45x12 tooth combination (or 3.75 revolutions of the back wheel for each turn of the pedals) while the older riders where probably in or near their max gear, typically 53x11 (almost 5 revs per turn of the pedals). I don't want Evans head to swell up as big as his hair so don't tell him I said so, but I think we might be looking at a real prospect here.<br />
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<strong><em>Women and Juniors:</em></strong> The women and juniors took the line together to start the race but after some discussion and a quick vote on the stasrt line they opted to race separately, starting with a one-minute gap between them. This didn't stop them from catching and passing each other but both fields were small enough (8 and 15 riders that it wasn't a problem). Both races came down to two person duels. In the women's race, it was between Anna Barensfeld (Ladies First Racing) and Silke Wunderwald (Kenda). They lapped everyone except Kimberly Edwards (CVC). At the finish Silke passed Anna for the win with Kimberly less than a minute back for third. In the Juniors race, it came down to the McCormack twins, Cameron and Brendan (both Hot Tubes). Peter Vollers Jr and his Killington Mountain School teammates hung in with the McCormacks for a while, but they couldn't contain them for the whole race. The twins would replay their sprint from the previous week at Myles Standish and the result would be the same with Cameron just edging out Brendan by less than half a bike length. <br />
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I have a couple of weeks off from announcing now so maybe I'll do a little racing myself. I never did make it to Wells Ave last week as threatened in the previous post. I'll either try to get there again this weekend or I'll do something I haven't done in about 20 years - a mountain bike race. Paul Curley is promoting a <a href="http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=10383">new race</a> at Massasoit State Park near Taunton on Saturday. That should be fun even though my MTB is a 20 year old totally rigid (except for the loose headset) beast. The thing should be in the recycle bin at the dump, not in a race. I am thinking about getting a new MTB so if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know in the comments. 29er? Full suspension or not? Frame material? Brands? Deals?startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-57541443474369794992010-04-13T01:38:00.000-04:002010-04-13T01:38:16.384-04:00Myles Standish Road Race, April 10, 2010The State finally re-paved the main road into Myles Standish State Forest from the Plymouth side. So, this year's race returned to the College Pond loop after a year on the training loop at Charge Pond. Or that is what we thought would happen. As it turned out, 14 inches of rain in the month of March (a record) on top of a rainy 2009 raised the groundwater levels so high that a portion of the College Pond loop was flooded out. Race promoter Bill Sykes had a tough choice to make: move back to Charge Pond again or shorten the College Pond loop to avoid the massive puddle. No one really wanted to race the Charge Pond loop again for the 6th straight week, so he wisely shortened to College Pond loop to avoid the pond/puddle on the south side of the College Pond loop. That left just a 2 mile loop that was pretty much all either climbing or descending with a couple of small rollers in between. Maybe someday the State will fix the dam at East Head Bog near the forest headquarters and the race will be able to return to the classic 7 mile loop. I'll bet most people that raced MSRR this weekend weren't even around for that version of the course, it's been more than 10 years since the dam has been closed.<br />
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Before we go any further here, I should point out that the staging and the finish were the only parts of the races that I could se from my vantage point as the announcer. As a result, the race summaries below are a combination of what I could peice together from the USAC officials' race radio transmissions (thanks Kelly) and reports from riders after the race. Sorry if I don't have it all exactly right.<br />
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<strong>Cub Juniors</strong> – The cub juniors certainly don't remember the full length version of the course and that's ok because their race was just two miles (or one lap) long. In an effort to explain the course to them, I figured I would put it in kid terms. I told them the course is like a lollypop, you go out the stem, take one lap around the lollypop, and then come back down the stem to finish. I got blank looks, but it made sense to me so I kept using the analogy all the way though to the Masters and Pro races at the end of the day.<br />
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Five kids lined up for the once around the lollypop race. When they came back down the stem to the finish, Ian Keough took the solo victory by about a minute. As Joe Parkin (author of a Dog in a Hat) would say, there was no one else in the picture. Three of Ian's older brothers were at the Tour of the Battenkill and the oldest, Jake, was racing in California. I couldn't tell which brother he was talking to, but he got some last minute coaching via cellphone while on the start line. It seemed to help.<br />
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<strong>Juniors 15-18</strong> – This race was a rematch of Vollers vs. McCormack through the proxies of their respective sons. Frank McCormack had 15 year old twins Brendan and Cameron while Peter Vollers had Peter Vollers Junior (PVJ in Belgian shorthand). The fathers raced together as professionals on the IME team that Bill Sykes put together years ago. PVJ also had lots of teammates from the Killington Mountain School while Cameron and Brendan were the sole representatives of Hot Tubes Cycling. They did 7 laps of the course and within the first half of the race the McCormack twins took off the front. At the finish, Cameron narrowly took the sprint from his brother. Nate Etchells (Mystic Velo) finished third with PVJ right behind.<br />
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<strong>Cat5 </strong>– The Cat 5s were split into two fields with 35 years being the dividing line and they set off a couple of minutes apart. Both fields had almost 30 riders which is about all you would want on the narrow twisting roads at MSRR. The 35plus Cat 5 group came in to the finish line with a big bunch sprint and as they came into view over the last rolling hill one of the riders suddenly moved to the right taking out the 3rd or 4th rider in linfrom the front off the course and causing others to take evasive action. Fortunately the rider that was taken down did most of his tumbling in the pine needles on the side of the road and not on the asphalt. Still, he was banged up enough to go to the hospital in the ambulance . The diagnosis included broken ribs and some serious road rash. He returned to pick up his truck and bike from the parking area just moments before it was about to be locked in by the State. It would still be there now if he had been tewn minutes longer. His wife who had picked him up at the hospital didn't seem too happy, but he said he would be back on the bike soon. In the race, Robert Hoenick (Bikeworks) was leading out the sprint when the crash happened and was therefore ahead of the crash. He held on from 300 yards out without even having to stand up to take the win. <br />
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The Cat5 35plus field came to the line in a big bunch also but a little more strung out. They passed the crash victim from the previous race who was fortunate to be well out of the way. Geremia Ortega took the field sprint by a bike length. <br />
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<strong>Cat4 </strong>– Just past the halfway mark of the 20 mile race, Nevin Rallis (Bikeman.com) and three others took off to establish a few seconds lead after a series of chases and reformations in the first part of the race. The lead group of four was trimmed to three and they stayed clear by about 7 seconds and got to sprint it out. Rallis won the three-up sprint with a blast of speed to come around the right side of Ben McCoy and Justin Neviakis. <br />
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<strong>Masters55 </strong>- A break of three formed in this race also, lead by Mark Hagen . With one to go, and partly because the Cat4s past the Masters55, Dusty Adams, who had been in no-mans-land between the break and the field, didn’t get the word that he had one to go and headed strait to the finish. Unfortunately his official result is a DNF even though he had been in fourth. At the "sprint", Mark Hagen (CCB) powered away from the other two in the break without even getting up from the saddle followed by Graydon Stevens (OA) and Bill Sawyer (Gearworks) in that order.<br />
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<strong>Masters35</strong> – Mark McCormack (Team Fuji) and Johnny Bold (Corner Cycle) lined up with a stellar field of about 30 riders. Mark got away with a Corner Cycle rider (not Johnny) and Tom Francis (Bike Barn). Bold couldn’t cross to the break because his teammate was up the road. However, the teammate got dropped from the break leaving just Mark and Tom. They later caught the Cat3 field and passed through. This lead to confusion in counting the laps resulting in Mark and Tom doing an extra lap. Tom Francis stayed tied to Mark's wheel longer than most would have, but in the final 100 yards Markie pulled away for the win. Here's where it really got confusing at the finish line. The next riders through the finish were the Cat3 field, one lap sooner than the cat 3 break which never got passed by Markie and Tom. Then, the next through the finish was the Masters55 field sprint, and then finally the Cat3 winning break.<br />
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<strong>Cat3</strong> – The Cambridge Bike team came in force to the MSRR. Their team leader, R Michael McKittrick, had publicly vowed months ago to boycott theTour of the Basttenkill and its suddenly increased entry fee. He stayed true to his word and dragged his team to Plymouth with him instead. Also lined up for the Cat3 race were several of the Gearworks masters team looking to get in some extra quality training miles. A group of three got off the front including Paul Curley (Gearworks), Luke Fortini (Specialized), and Gary Aspnes (Horst-Benidorm). That group would come to the finish line with Aspnes leading it out. If there is one thing in bike racing you don't want to do, it's lead out Paul Curley. That man has been racing since the days of penny farthings and knows exactly how to use you up in a sprint and come around for the win. That's exactly what he did. Fortini felt it wasn't a clean sprint but the result didn't change. Hopefully young Luke learned a thing or two from the Jedi sprint master.<br />
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<strong>Women </strong>– The race plan called for separate Pro123 and Cat4 fields, but almost everyone that showed up was a Cat4. So, the fields were combined into one race since they were to be on the course at the same time anyweay. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any info from the officials during this race so I don't have any details on how it developed. But, at the finish it was Kristen Gohr (Stage 5 Cycling) from the Pro field outsprinting Sheila Vibert (NHCC) from the Cat 4 field. Although the fields raced together, they were scored separately so they both won! Unfortunately, the exertion of the sprint caught up to Sheila after the line and she seemed to lose her concentration long enough to bump into Kristen. Both tumbled but at that point, 30 yards past the finish line, they had slowed down enough that neither was hurt. Still, its a lesson to everyone that the race isn't over until you are off your bike or at least have a foot down.<br />
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<strong>Mens Pro123</strong> - Adam Myerson, Al Donahue, new dad Andy Mills, and about 15 others took the course for 15 laps. Donahue and Sean McCormack (Team Fuji) took off the front of the race about half way through. Sean couldn't hold the pace but Donahue kept going with teammate Dan Greenfield (both Wheelhouse/NCC). They would hold a two man team time trial until the finish and in the process they even caught and lapped about ten riders. With only a two mile lap, the officals decided to use criterium rules and finish the lapped riders on the same lap as the breakaway that caught them. So, when Donahue and Greenfield had completed their laps, the officials sent them all down the stem of the lollypop to the finish where Donahue took the win a few yards ahead of the field with Greenfield riding in comfortably for second. Minutes later, Myerson (Mountain Khakis), who had broken off the front of the main field, rolled in for third to claim a little gas money. As best known full pro in the race he had been a marked man. The rest of the field that wasn’t lapped straggled in one at a time for a while until the last unlapped rider (Luke Fortini) finished. Curiously, he placed 8th despite being the last rider to cross the line.<br />
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<strong>Masters 45</strong> – Host club Mass Bay Road Club put four riders on the line. A lot of the riders in the field were in their second race of the day including Johnny Bold. Graydon Stevens was in his third race of the day. If you are going to drive all the way down from Maine, you might as well make it worth while. John Stonebarger (MassBay) had a much shorter ride from the other side of Plymouth and did it on his bike. It would be the perfect warmup except that he didn't realize that the road he took to get to the race was completely flodded in several places, worse even than the intended race course. He was too far into it to turn back and take a longer route around so he rode through it and arrived at the race with flooded shoes and shoe covers. This wouldn't probably be noteworthy except that it seemed to help because he won the race. After a series of attacks late in thelate stages of the race, Stonebarger counter attacked after Johnny Bold tried to go on the high point on the course with half a lap remaining. Stonebarger made the all-or-nothing move and managed to stay ahead of the entire field to take it all. Bold crossed the line in second with Joe Rano (Gearworks) right behind for third. <br />
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<strong>Next weekend</strong> I'll be at Ninigret to do the announcing for the Newhouse Criterium put on by Arc en Ciel racing. The weather can be challenging there this time of year, but it's always a fun day of racing on the built-for-bycles road loop there. Where else can you get so much cornering practice in one race? And, if the weather is decent on Sunday, you just might see me making my season debut with a number on my back at Wells Ave. I haven't been there in about 15 years, should be interesting.<br />
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Thanks for reading.startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-74499895970985689632010-02-04T00:54:00.001-05:002010-02-15T22:12:31.801-05:00Harpoon Indoor Time Trial<a href="http://www.richardfries.blogspot.com/">Richard Fries</a> got the call to work the Cyclocross World Championships in Tabor, Czech Republic, but I got the call to work the next most important bike event on the calendar on January 30th - <a href="http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/index.cfm/page/Harpoon-Sports/pid/28551">The Harpoon Indoor Time Trial</a>. Richard did the announcing for the inaugural HITT in 2009, but for good reason declined this year. When they told me it would be at the Harpoon Brewery, I was happy he couldn't make it for year number two. <br />
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As it turns out, the HITT is the largest indoor time trial in the world with about 260 participants competing in heats of 24 at a time. It is kind of like riding the trainer in your basement but with 23 friends all hooked up to computers that measure speed, distance, and wattage. Too bad it didn't measure BAL also, but we'll get to that in a few paragraphs.<br />
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The technical side was handled by <a href="http://www.fastsplits.com/">Fast:Splits</a>, a shop and training facility for endurance athletes in Newton. They seem to be quite popular with the triathalon crowd, a scene I know very little about. Fast:Splits brought the 24 computrainers and the computers to monitor and record everyone's output. Capron lighting and sound brought 9 big flat panel screens so everyone could see their progress in the race. And Harpoon provided the venue and the beer - lots and lots of beer. On tap they had their IPA, the seasonal Celtic Ale, UFO Pale, and UFO Heffeweisen for everyone to try.<br />
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We started the first heat at 12:30 PM with the first 24 riders. I don't think any of them were USA Cycling types, at least I didn't recognize any of them. They turned in some impressive times, finishing the 8 mile course in around 20 to 25 minutes. I was still trying to figure out this whole "indoor time trial" computrainer thing at this point as this was my first exposure to it. In fact, this was my first exposure to the world of watts. I am old enough that all we had in my day were heart rate monitors and we liked it that way. And that was only the last couple of years of my so called "career". Most of the time we just rode hard or rode easy, it was very subjective. So when I arrived at the brewery for the HITT, I had no idea if 400 watts is Pee Wee Herman power or Fabian Cancellara power. Turns out, it's closer to Cancellara and there would be a few who would come close to putting out 400 watts for almost 20 minutes.<br />
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The route was a simulation of the final 8 miles of the 150 mile <a href="http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/index.cfm?pid=28553">Harpoon Brewery to Brewery Ride</a> (aka B2B). It was mostly flat until mile 6 where a 5% grade kicks up for almost a mile then it's a downhill to the Harpoon Brewery in Windsor Vt. Last year's best time was set by Cort Cramer (Svelte Cycles) at 19:11 with an average power output of 362 watts. For the women it was Ironwoman pro and former US swim team member Dede Griesbauer at 20:57 and 282 watts.<br />
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Did I mention that Harpoon was giving away beer? In addition to two free beers to each competitor, they also gave away a case of beer to the mens and womens winner of each heat. Brian Quigley (Colavita) was the mens winner in the second heat and got to take his place on the Harpoon Hot Stool which was kind of like a wobbly life guard stand with two barstools on top. After saying "hot stool" a couple of times over the mic, I unofficially renamed it the Harpoon Hot Seat. I think that sounds better and led to fewer chuckles from the audience. Quigley's time of 19:52, although half a minute slower than his second place time last year, held up for several more heats. While on the Hot Seat, he was served as many beers as he wanted and got to wear the Mavic Red Vest of Courage, the "maillot jaune" of the day. He told me the secret to his success was a combination of lots of basement training, Rage ATM on the earbuds, and Harpoon IPA. <a href="http://www.crossresults.com/?n=racers&sn=r&rID=15676">Quigley </a>won the Cat 4 race at day 2 of the Downeast Cyclocross in October so apparently he has some skills to go with the power. <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It was not until the sixth heat, 3 and a half hours later, that Quigley was dethroned by Jeff Capobianco (Breakthrough Coaching) so he had plenty of time to enjoy a couple of IPAs while on the hot seat. Capobianco's time was 19:37 and that was looking good until the 8th heat when the inter-family grudge match between brothers-in-law Dave McCutcheon (Mass Bay Road Club) and Arnold Roest (Team Psycho) took place. This heat also included the heavyweight sub-division for those over 200 pounds. Among them was <a href="http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?encode=TRUE&pid=4902">Scott Shaunessy</a>, a former NHL player who lead the league in penalty minutes two years in a row. "Just putting on the foil, coach." He didn't look at all like a Hanson brother, but he definitely looked like a big dude on a bicycle. He turned out a respectable time of 20:56. <br />
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But the winner of the heat would be Roest with a new best time of 19:32, beating his brother in law by 50 seconds to take family bragging rights. <a href="http://www.crossresults.com/?n=racers&sn=r&rID=22620">Roest </a>is the guy you might have seen at the races with the Surly Pugsley with the motorcycle tires. He won the Cat 4 race at the Ice Weasels race on that thing. Here's a picture of it from the Brockton cross race in 2008. Note the fixed cog on the front tire just in case the back axle breaks. This bike is made for survivalist nut cases. Roest didn't use this bike on the computrainer.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDOljIkacA8y7ay6rjGYRI_I6AUOpsrrCJ1QqNNS03-xmbGd-svERTbmctTJ4VQ9rWCyY_9OcpG2yEi_Vw0bJLEvd24G81pe-c8AEIL8W7vhL2qG9r0LEUuyACPZ_wV_11Qy9iPdg7BZD/s1600-h/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDOljIkacA8y7ay6rjGYRI_I6AUOpsrrCJ1QqNNS03-xmbGd-svERTbmctTJ4VQ9rWCyY_9OcpG2yEi_Vw0bJLEvd24G81pe-c8AEIL8W7vhL2qG9r0LEUuyACPZ_wV_11Qy9iPdg7BZD/s320/011.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Roest's time held up until the elite men's heat. And by the time we got to that heat, the race was running way behind schedule because it takes a while to enter each competitor's name and assign them to a computrainer. The elite mens heat was the 12th heat of the day and was two hours behind schedule. I wouldn't bother to mention it but it played a factor in the race because not only did the elite men start their heat well after their bed times, several of them also got bored waiting and decided to sample the beer selection before their heat. <br />
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Robbie King, Al Donahue, Dylan McNicholas, Tom Parsons, Cort Cramer, Mark McCormack, and Peter Bradshaw were all in the elite men's heat. Two time U23 national triathalon champion Ethan Brown was in this heat also. With this crew, even though some of them had been partaking of the beer supply, you knew a new best time would be set. It looked for a while like Tom Parsons would be late for the start when he couldn't get his 29'er MTB to fit the computrainer. Only Tom could be late for a start that started two hours late. It probably didn't help that he spent more time lining up his beer feeds with Kevin Sweeney than he did checking his bike. But, he found a bike that would work and made the start in the nick of time. Read his detailed account here. Ethan Brown would set the best time, showing the inebraited road racing and mountain cyclists what power per kilogram is all about. His 18:37 was nearly matched by Robbie King (Indy Fab) at 18:46.4 with Matt Mitchell (545 Velo) only 0.1 seconds slower. Average wattages over the course for the top three men were 348, 395, and 384 in that order. For Brown, that was close to 5 watts/kg. Robbie is well over 6 feet tall and weighs a lot more than Brown so his watts/kg was less than Brown's despite having the higher raw number. It was about 11:30 when the elite men's heat finished but they took over the top 5 spots in the overall standings and nobody puked.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyN14zrOxdiWzq9E-avBEguni3CnImBOSkVjp2KiSeh97mQa8yb5jaPBUH9Q-d7hKDPj63ZKI5zhrYRajw8XfdqPkZpAe1jEwuoBL4bkKz9AVIXNQQCO-wO_gj2VV3OOkQ7KWW1S3i4sOk/s1600-h/DSCF2465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyN14zrOxdiWzq9E-avBEguni3CnImBOSkVjp2KiSeh97mQa8yb5jaPBUH9Q-d7hKDPj63ZKI5zhrYRajw8XfdqPkZpAe1jEwuoBL4bkKz9AVIXNQQCO-wO_gj2VV3OOkQ7KWW1S3i4sOk/s320/DSCF2465.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mark the Shark</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1rYCVqPiV814FpmP5HkwAu7mQCrqUVRb4Hdx0uHIm067-EMPZJ72c4rf14RUXRDVv6HzN75ZRcLua1XobQ7zzoyGInYDYB5SGCYD8PKFt9aXWYV8v0i62ldcn72LO-7XVH4KE91Boqn2/s1600-h/DSCF2467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1rYCVqPiV814FpmP5HkwAu7mQCrqUVRb4Hdx0uHIm067-EMPZJ72c4rf14RUXRDVv6HzN75ZRcLua1XobQ7zzoyGInYDYB5SGCYD8PKFt9aXWYV8v0i62ldcn72LO-7XVH4KE91Boqn2/s320/DSCF2467.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Al Donahue (front) and Peter Bradshaw</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3imldtstbXvGxxGaCKvLfljF_PVvKBRb3bvS_hwnvuJc9VUnI6gkNyLHztAbvXTrZ7GowrpQUK1OE_Cg0mBMSgadIDi5JTE5BQk180g24pASw3Hiqw9KEDiq7vsoDGbwMNpID1iEL_JRV/s1600-h/DSCF2468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3imldtstbXvGxxGaCKvLfljF_PVvKBRb3bvS_hwnvuJc9VUnI6gkNyLHztAbvXTrZ7GowrpQUK1OE_Cg0mBMSgadIDi5JTE5BQk180g24pASw3Hiqw9KEDiq7vsoDGbwMNpID1iEL_JRV/s320/DSCF2468.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Apparently it was past Robbie King's bed time</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf37cL-hLw7RyzOBEWPCIdzrjWwuReLVGuUitlt3gLM-iQbkGKBf2pijgc9dHPOiZwhwoNJTt8Z2hc_y2z7buLANP0cRmUoXAfvJ72XN_eN0zA6iaheoWku3Z2_RUzIkLAPgaT7LyzU1sg/s1600-h/DSCF2470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf37cL-hLw7RyzOBEWPCIdzrjWwuReLVGuUitlt3gLM-iQbkGKBf2pijgc9dHPOiZwhwoNJTt8Z2hc_y2z7buLANP0cRmUoXAfvJ72XN_eN0zA6iaheoWku3Z2_RUzIkLAPgaT7LyzU1sg/s320/DSCF2470.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mr. Big Bikes, Tom Parsons</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU5rJl4j_r-lJXoqPNpETGzGQcwp1MYwnppmYbig_HbgOZsCjK7rQEsKG7_in_6awcxQYiIHBEon2fDqO3BLwNxUNUvmf6fFUfxVFrl_o1E43h0r-wM6CuqNxJm6A8aL1_JPspvz4PHoqf/s1600-h/DSCF2472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU5rJl4j_r-lJXoqPNpETGzGQcwp1MYwnppmYbig_HbgOZsCjK7rQEsKG7_in_6awcxQYiIHBEon2fDqO3BLwNxUNUvmf6fFUfxVFrl_o1E43h0r-wM6CuqNxJm6A8aL1_JPspvz4PHoqf/s320/DSCF2472.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">U23 National Tri Champ, Ethan Brown</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO576t6YlhU4lTIcded_CLRGlq4prmkxiqsn254qZHh6sBByY9r3OvOxr9b-kbHgGVhyqTJQNVKK2LC8PD2-Vu0-oIsRJ1Tr6Y4Y1gWk5i6SAvyWtHQcldcUAKM-njixq9IUVCL8_GbXRD/s1600-h/DSCF2477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO576t6YlhU4lTIcded_CLRGlq4prmkxiqsn254qZHh6sBByY9r3OvOxr9b-kbHgGVhyqTJQNVKK2LC8PD2-Vu0-oIsRJ1Tr6Y4Y1gWk5i6SAvyWtHQcldcUAKM-njixq9IUVCL8_GbXRD/s320/DSCF2477.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Have you ever seen this look on Mark's face? Or Robbies? Me neither.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The women's elite heat was earlier in the day at around 3:00 and included a couple of notable triathlete celebreties in Dede Griesbauer and Karen Smyers. Karen would take the hot seat and the Mavic Red Vest of Courage with a time of 21:05 and an average power output of 265 watts. Having the women's elite race early in the day meant that the women's final results were likely to remain unchanged unless a big upset came along. At least the women in the remianing open heats had cases to beer to ride for and in some heats there were only one or two women so their odds were good. Karen Smyers remained on the hot seat until the awards ceremony at the end of the evening. Amy McGuire was the second women overall at 22:10 and 272 watts with Dede close behind at 22:19 and 251 watts.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Dede and Karen were able to fill some of the time between their heat and the awards ceremony with the team event. This event required 8 members on each of three teams to work together like a Tour de France TTT. The lead rider feels the resistenace of the wind at whatever speed they are riding. Any rider within 40 feet of the rider in front of them feels less resistance to simulate the draft. Anyone who has ever been dropped, and that is probably everyone reading this blog, wishes you could still feel the draft at 40 feet in real life, but the simulation is close enough. The team's time is taken on the 7th rider to finish so you can only drop one rider so it doesn't matter at all how fast any individual on the team might be able to go. Team Psycho and Blue Hills Cycling Club were on opposite sides of the room with the Boston Triathalon Team in the middle. All three teams are sponsored by Harpoon. Arnold Roest, who at that point was still the leader of the men's race, was not on the Psycho team because, as he said, he didn't make the cut. That didn't make much sense until we saw the team which included Karen Smyers and Dede Grisbauer and triathalon Olympian Jarrod Shoemaker. To no one's syrprise Team Psycho won with a time of 20:15 for the seventh rider, which was only 5 seconds behind the team leader. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">The final heat of the night was the collegiate heat with about 16 riders from Boston area colleges including MIT, BC, Northeastern, and Wentworth. Ian from MIT won the heat, and the beer that went with it. His time was 19:56 which was good for 15th place overall.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Here is a photo of the two individual winners who both took home a set of Mavic wheels among other prizes. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguw4lGDTBRNUEekpULm9jK3eMfitz8U0EJf8XXNp-Tx2ssShz2NXkSVNTGSoYR6lwO4JwYpM2hmjiGKDSnjkjkkH5fDEI-myTtwM1m76i99aYdYP9MZY_iNgC0RJfWmv9elODvaOMDcjOR/s1600-h/2010_winners_Brown-Smyers_250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguw4lGDTBRNUEekpULm9jK3eMfitz8U0EJf8XXNp-Tx2ssShz2NXkSVNTGSoYR6lwO4JwYpM2hmjiGKDSnjkjkkH5fDEI-myTtwM1m76i99aYdYP9MZY_iNgC0RJfWmv9elODvaOMDcjOR/s320/2010_winners_Brown-Smyers_250.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ethan Brown and Karen Smyers enjoying their just rewards</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(photo by Harpoon Brewery)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div>startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-28070866159800777112009-12-17T00:56:00.000-05:002009-12-17T00:56:04.031-05:00And just like that, it's overSometimes you see the end coming, sometines it catches you blind sided. Sometimes it's for the best, sometimes you wish you had had a little more time together. But time marches on and, whether you are ready or not, it's now over. The parting is bittersweet, but at least we ended it with a bang. If it's better to burn out than fade away, we couldn't have ended it any better. And best of all, we will have sweet memories to carry us over to the next romance, the next love, or the next 'cross season. <br />
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Well, I tried to be all deep and poetic, but that just isn't me. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1rnR-cm_8smqhZmJZkdO4OcgFN9cEdWtsUotEgl34_UpJtvUIfRHlaqoOZPs_XiVpCQYD-G_QEsYGMX72icPIE7xHg2835RDq3w9ojNl0ywc3RQ39A5EjUDvl1VlUUqy8ElJmuEtVrYRk/s1600-h/DSCF2464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1rnR-cm_8smqhZmJZkdO4OcgFN9cEdWtsUotEgl34_UpJtvUIfRHlaqoOZPs_XiVpCQYD-G_QEsYGMX72icPIE7xHg2835RDq3w9ojNl0ywc3RQ39A5EjUDvl1VlUUqy8ElJmuEtVrYRk/s400/DSCF2464.JPG" /></a><br />
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The Ice Weasels cometh, and unfortunately they also go-eth, and in so doing they mark the end of the bicycle racing season in New England. It's finally time to nurse the sore bones, catch up with the family, and get some of the big ticket items off the honey-do list that has taken a back seat for almost four months now (9 months counting road/MTB seasons). <br />
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For the second year in a row <a href="http://www.untilthesnowends.blogspot.com/">Colin</a> and <a href="http://wellonabigbikeya.blogspot.com/">Tom</a>, with help from <a href="http://squirtgunshow.blogspot.com/">Kevin</a>, put on the party of the year at White Barn Farm and they even managed to fit in some bike races to keep us all entertained. There are a few esential elements that make a party great. Beer is a given. They had that covered (for a while anyway) with two kegs of beer from Harpoon. Music is a must have for any party. I was happy to supply 800 watts of sound pumping power and an ipod full of tunes (until Tom pulled host priveleges and switched it to his ipod while I was out racing, gotta admit his might have been better). Good food is a must and the boys and girls from HUP had that covered. Good people and great conversation are the only other ingredients that a great party must have, and they were in abundant supply. <br />
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I arrived at 8:00 to set up the PA system and hopefully still have time to warm up a little before the 10:00 AM Cat 4 race. It was nice being parked on the same side as the race course this year. Folks, if you want to get a good parking spot at next years race, just offer to bring some heavy equipment to the race or get there early. There was no snow where I live so the conditions caught me by surprise. But I discovered that racing in snow and ice means that there is no way you can go fast enough to really make it hurt (on the inside) becasue you just can't apply that much power. While I was setting up I heard talk about opening up the wait list at 9:45. What, you mean this race is sold out? No way! So we are going to have 100 Cat 4 cross dudes bouncing and sliding around for 40 mintes on what is almost certainly the shortest and narrowest course of the year? Cool! <br />
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I lined up around the middle of the pack (100 riders divided by 5 per row= 20 rows) and waited for the whistle. We took off at a reasonable pace with most everyone choosing one of two packed down tire tracks . I realized a few seconds later than I should have that I could easily go faster down the middle and started passing people and moving up a few spots before the first turn. It's a good thing I did because there were very few passing oportunities on other parts of the course. Unless someone fell down, your chances of getting past them were slim. But lots did fall down. After what seemed like a long time, the lap cards read 5 to go. What? I was about ready for the bell. Then the next time around the double barriers where the crowd was gathered, I heard Motorhead on the PA and got enough extra kick to put the lap count out of my head and dig a little deeper for a while. Unfortunately, digging a little deeper in slick snow means falling down more often. <br />
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Over the course of the race I think I wiped out on ice about 6 times. Most of the time I got up quick and laughed it off but the last ime, near the big tree, it took some of the life out of me and a few guys got around before I was back up to speed. That was on the last lap as I was trying to catch a few guys that were tantalizingly catchable until I crashed. I ended up 45th so I made my goal of being in the top half with a few places to spare. The guy on the huge mountain bike (a Surly Pugsley) won it but I never even saw him. <br />
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The Cat 3 race was next. I had done a poor job explaining the open mic heckling concept to the crowd before the Cat 4 race becasue I was in a hurry to get to the line. As a result, nobody had picked up the mic and heckled us. So, I made sure during the Cat 3 race that the concept was understood: There would be no real announcing this day, just an 800 watt free for all. Tom got into it and got some help from <a href="http://www.partyattheback.blogspot.com/">Steve H.</a> who it turns out has some real announcing experience from the collegiate racing scene. The kids got potential. <br />
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I have no idea who it was that was on the mic during the single speed race but he was a cycling Henny Youngman. Great lines and a great voice to match. I used the Chabot method to turn my old Faggin cross bike into a single speed Friday night (but didn't test ride it) so I was ready to do the double for the first time in my cross career (beleive me, 44 years old is no time to start doing the double). I had been shifting frequently in the cat 4 race so I knew this wasn't going to be easy but at least the course is flat. I managed ok but I was beat by the end. The weird thing is that I didn't fall down at all in this race after falling over about 6 times in the Cat 4 race. It could have been that the course was worn in by then. It could have been the different bike. Also, I did the single speed on clinchers with about 45 psi as opposed to the Cat 4 where I was on tubulars with about 34 psi. Could clinchers with pressure be better in slippery snow? I beat the hipster in the plaid shirt and msutache but I lost to Leah from Indy Fab. So it goes. At least I took a beer feed for the first time ever. Andy says it was Harpoon but it tasted like Miller and that's what he had been drinking. It didn't settle too well so that was the only time I tried that. I looked for a real Harpoon after the race but, the horror, it was all gone! <br />
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After the single speed event, the racing became a blur of hideous red and white striped kits (I'm looking at you JD), beer/cupcake feeds, pumpkin pie, and bouncing aimlessly from one conversation to another. <br />
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Then just like that, the sun set on the 2009 season and it was time to pack up.<br />
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</div>I should point out that Tim Johnson missed the Ice Weasel's race once again but he made it worthwhile by collecting his third Elite Men's stars and stripes jersey in Bend Oregon today. Paul Curley, Johnny Bold, Kevin Hines, and Julie Lockhart also missed the Ice Weasel's but they'll all be in stars and stripes next season also so they probably mad the right choice too. Thanks to Cyclingdirt.com for the live video coverage of the races, it was incredible. I can't beleive that a couple of guys were able to put together a live internet video feed from Oregon and beam it around the world for us to watch for free. They don't even have adverts on their site. Next time I might take some dramamine first, but still, what a great job they did bringing us the races. Versus could learn a fews things from them.<br />
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Between announcing, racing, and spectating, I have had only one complete weekend away from bike races since mid August. I am getting tired of getting up earlier on the weekends than I do during the week. I am ready for a break but if there was a race next weekend, I'd still want to do it. That's probsably the right feeling to have at the end of the season. <br />
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If something comes along that is blog-worthy, maybe I'll fire up the laptop but it might be a while. See you next year.startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-61462409565285536582009-11-17T01:35:00.003-05:002009-11-20T23:10:10.406-05:00Oh No Noho!For those of you not so wise in the ways of Western Mass, Noho is local shorthand for Northampton, the self-proclaimed Paradise of America. It's also the cultural capital of Western Massachusetts. I was lucky enough to spend five great years during college just down the road in Amherst and my firends and I spent much of our leisure time in Northampton. Some of the store fronts and night clubs have changed but it's still the same great town and going back there, whatever the excuse, is always fun. For the first time in many years my excuse was bike racing instead of conferences for work, the UMass Marching Band, or random drunken excursions. <br />
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The seeds of the Northampton race took root when <a href="http://www.cycle-smart.com/">Adam Myerson</a> put on the first cyclocross race at UMass-Amherst in the early 90s (give or take a couple of years). At the time, UMass had a very successful <a href="http://www.umbrc.com/">road racing club</a> that produced lots of great talent. I can't count myself among them for at least two reasons, one being that I never rode for the team, the other reason should be obvious to anyone that has seen me race, no talent. Adam, the Swinand brothers, Peter Vollers, Stephanie Roussos, and many others formed the core of a great collegiate cycling scene.<br />
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When Adam put on that first cyclo-cross race in the grass fields behind the Orchard Hill and Northeast dormitories at UMass, I was about three years into competitive cycling and just beginning to try 'cross. I showed up on a Bianchi hybrid that was lighter than a mountain bike but still wasn't quite a cross bike. But in the early 90's there weren't many cross bikes around. As usual, Adam was way ahead of his time. A couple of weeks ago I rode those same fields again while at UMass for a conference. There is a new parking lot covering a small part of the area, but most of the old course, as well as I can remember it now almost 20 years later, is still there. <br />
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As many UMass students do, Adam transplanted himself from Amherst to Noho and at some point he took the race with him. While in Noho, Adam started his coaching business, Cycle-Smart, and he became the title sponsor as well as the promoter of the race. The Cycle-Smart International now has the distinction of being the oldest UCI sanctioned cyclocross race in the country. When Adam Myerson does something, he does it right!<br />
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My love for Western Mass has rubbed off on my sweetie so she and our big dog joined me on my quest for Cat 4 cyclocross glory. She is also a big proponent of wind energy so a chance to check out the new wind turbines on Jiminy Peak and Brodie Mountain helped seal the deal. We were packed up and on the road Friday afternoon and got to the "Pick Up Party" at the Cycle-Smart Offices in time for a beer and some socializing. I was hoping to check out the <a href="http://www.spookybikes.com/">Spooky Bikes</a> shop downstairs but didn't have a chance. I saw an old friend from Needham High School there. I ran across his <a href="http://www.velocb.blogspot.com/">website</a> first and eventually figured out that I know this guy. I had no idea that he had become a bike racer and, justifiably, he had no idea that I had either. Hey Chip! <br />
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The Pick Up Party was a scene and thee place to be, but we had plans to grab some dinner in town so we finished a quick beer (mmm, Sam Smiths porter) and headed for the Sierra Grill. D'oh, 45 minute wait! Back up plan: The Dirty Truth. Double D'oh, no seats and a line! We needed food and alcohol quick! So we walked Main Street looking for good food quick, but not fast food. I can't remember the name of the place we ended up at, but we found a nice little Italian pasta place a couple of blocks west on Main St and had a great meal. <br />
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I desparately wanted to hit the <a href="http://www.dirtytruthbeerhall.com/">Dirty Truth</a> for a beer after dinner, but Sweetie's better judgement prevailed (as it usually does) so we went strait to the hotel to rest up for a big Saturday. If you haven't been to the DT, I suggest you go. If you have any appreciation at all for fine beers and food, this is the place to go. They have something like 30 beers on tap and several times more than that bottles. A cruise through the beer menu can take all night. They specialize in Belgian and craft brews. Sorry, no PBRs there for you hipster messenger types. If you are the indecisive type just get one of everything until you can't stand any more. <br />
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Oh yeah, there was a bike race Saturday: My goal for the Cat 4 race (other than making it there on time for the 8:30 start) was to finish in the top half. With a full field of 125 and starting on the 8th row, it wasn't going to be easy. The whistle blew and 250 pedals, 250 wheels and 250 flaring nostrils surged forward. Make that 248 pedals. My nostrils did their job, but I blew it trying to clip in. I lost several places before I had even turned a complete revolution. I cursed each stroke as I continued to try to spin and connect with the pedals. I hope no little kids were nearby. At least I wasn't next to the fences. I had looked at the narrow chute before the start and decided I would rather tangle with other riders than the steel fencing. As it turned out, being a little further back was a good thing when we reached the wooden ramp to enter the grass. For some reason there was a big pile up there and being a little further back allowed me to pick a line around it with minimal delay. It would have been better to be in front of it like most of the race, but it was a small victory to get around it unscathed.<br />
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From there, it was elbows out for a while as I tried to make up places and get into the top half of the race. I might be competely wrong about this, but I might have better technical skills than the other riders that are at my fitness level. I chose some great lines through the corners and when I got gapped by stronger riders, I could usually make it back up by coasting into the next corner a little hotter and letting it fly. Equipment choices might have a little to do with this - tubulars at 38 psi allow you to corner faster than clinchers, no doubt about it. I would like to run them even lower, but at 205 pounds and with lots of roots on the course, that was as low as I dared go. I'd rather bounce a little extra than run half a lap to the pit with a flat.<br />
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You might expect that racing with 124 friends would be a nightmare and the start kind of was. But, on the bright side, it means you are likely to have some company no matter how well or how badly you are doing. This race was the most fun I've had so far because there was always someone to race with. I passed a bunch, I got passed by a bunch. Sometimes in the tricky stuff, sometimes in the power sections. It felt like a race, not a time trial, all the way through. In the end I finished up 57th so I made my goal of top half. It's not an earth shattering result, but it's not bad for someone who spends more time announcing races than racing them. I think I even lapped one or two guys. That's definitely a first.<br />
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After the race it was time to get out of selfish bike racer mode and do what Sweetie wanted to do for a while. So we went to the farmers market in downtown Noho and stocked up on fresh veggies. When we were done with that it was almost lunch time so we did what any Belgian cyclocross fan would do, we got beer and frites at the Dirty Truth. I've been to Belgium (too breifly, but I was there) and Sweetie used to live there so we know our frites. Let me tell you, the Dirty Truth has the only real frites you are going to find in Massachusetts. I would say they have the best in all New England, but Duck Fat in Portland (the real Portland, not OR) is good too. So, at 11:15 AM we had the place to ourselves and we were having a lunch of Belgian beers and frites after finishing my best cross race so far. Heaven!<br />
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We returned to Look Park in time to see the Elite mens and womens races. I got some pictures but other real media outlets have covered those races better than I can. Follow this link to <a href="http://www.cycle-smart.com/blog/2009/11/09/cycle-smart-international-media-round-up">Adam Myerson's site</a> where he has a comprehensive list of all the race coverage from the "real media".<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">The Elite Women on the line. Mary McConneloug (far left) would win both days.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Elliot takes the hole shot.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Early action: Laura Van Gilder's leg, Sarah Bresnick-Zocchi , and Andrea Smith<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Myerson, Timmerman, Driscoll and Powers<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Melee in the sand pit<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The melee continues<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Race Promoter Adam Myerson<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The U23 battle taking shape between Luke Keough and Jerome Townsend<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">J-Pow with Richard Fries after winning<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Wow, what the hell is this thing?" Driscoll and Timmerman don't know either, but they want it.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Driscoll got his on Sunday.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Sunday podium with Driscoll first, Weighall second and St. John third (right).<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">More important, after the races, I found out from Adam that the Dirty Truth would be the center of the cyclocross universe later in the evening. Twice in one day? Yeah, I can handle that. I arrived, while Sweetie slept at the hotel, in time to wish <a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Richard-Fries/752560978">Richard Fries</a> a happy birthday as did many others. I got a chance to talk to a lot of 'cross people that I normally only get to talk about while they are announcing. The most unusual (in a good way) was <a href="http://sexualcamel.blogspot.com/">Kirt Fitzpatrick, the Sexual Camel</a>. <br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The legend of Kirt Fitzpatrick is growing even faster than I can type this and may someday be a blog post in itself if not a made for TV movie. From what I remember of our conversation over the din of a very busy bar, he told me that his team is named after a strip club in Dubai UAE. However, I also heard at least two other people ask him the same question about the team name and he gave them both completely different explanations. I am not naming names, but the Sexual Camel's dry spell may have ended after he left the DT because he didn't leave alone. I also got a chance to talk to Pete Smith of the <a href="http://www.embrocationcyclingjournal.com/team/">embrocation cycling team</a>. I complemented him on the fine picture of him in the Herald in advance of the Mayor's Cup race in Boston. He went on to tell me how he was surprised to hear his name during call ups before that race but unfortunately he was too sick to ride and was just there to support team mates. He didn't realize that I was the announcer that did the call ups. It must have been frustrating as hell to get a call up at the biggest criterium his home town had seen in decades and not be able to take the line. He should have walked up to the line in street clothes, that would have been funny.<br />
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Day two at Noho was pretty much the same race as day one except backwards. That meant that the steep run up after the rail road tracks was now a steep drop off into the rail road tracks. I nearly lost it on the landing after taking way too much air and landing front wheel first. But I held it together and recovered. I finished a few places lower than day one but still pretty good for me. <br />
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My congratualtions to technical director <a href="http://www.pioneerevents.com/hoot.html">JD</a>, who <a href="http://www.solobreak.blogspot.com/">Solobreak</a> correctly notes was everywhere busting his hump (camel reference?) all day long both days. Thanks JD for a great course.<br />
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A little later in the day, while Sweetie, me, and our dog were looking at Western Mass's first wind turbines, the UCI Official at the race, Harry Lam, found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and got hit by riders sprinting for a finish in the 35 plus race. If you were there, you either heard it or heard about it. If you weren't, suffice it to say, he was very seriously injured but is now released from the hospital and on the long road to recovery. There is a fund raiser set up on <a href="http://www.bikereg.com/">Bikereg</a> where you can donate to support Harry and his family while he recoveres. As I understand it, Harry's family (wife and two or three kids) could really use the help since, other than officiating, he was out of work at the time of the accident. Hopefully he still had health insurance, but I don't know about that. You can also help out this weekend at <a href="http://www.bostonroadclub.com/shedd_park_cyclocross_race">Lowell</a>. Check out <a href="http://www.velocb.blogspot.com/">Chip's</a> website for details.startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-23552971283165987562009-11-03T00:12:00.000-05:002009-11-03T00:12:00.818-05:00Cyclocross SmorgasbordSo many races, so little time. It's been a while since my last confession (mostly because I am not Catholic), but here we go with an update for the past four weeks or so. Sorry for the lack of pictures but between rain and announcing duties, I haven't even taken the camera out of the truck in a while.<br />
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<strong>Brockton and Wrentham, October 17-18</strong><br />
October had five weekends for racing and it seemed like it rained one day or the other every one of those weekends except the last. Saturday in Brockton, Travis Cycles once again hosted their City of Champions Cyclocross. A year ago, they asked Mark McCormack to redesign their course around the lake and he found some interesting features. This year they used pretty much exactly the same course and it was still a bit of jungle cross and certainly not UCI approved, but it had a nice mix of surfaces and conditions. It was a nice change after three strait weeks of <a href="http://www.vergesport.com/">Verge</a> UCI approved courses at Vermont, Gloucester, and Providence.<br />
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Attendance was a bit light with a total of about 70 riders taking the line in four different races. This might have been the result of the scheduling gods putting four races on the schedule this day or maybe lots of folks just wanted a weekend off after three strait weekends of Verge series racing. The Category 4 race was the largest of the day with a field of 44 riders (I was bib number 44 and I think I was the last to register). The hole shot was shorter this year than last with only 100 yards of pavement before hitting the grass and a short uphill. That meant traffic and lots of it when we reached the uphill. I somehow got a decent start and made it to the top of the run up in decent position. But I also somehow managed to drop my chain which I didn't notice until after I remounted the bike which, of course, led to lost time and many lost places. More time was lost when I had to get off the bike to put the chain back on the big ring. Suddenly I was next to last place in the race and had to chase. This seemed to be good motivation because I passed almost half the race to finish 23rd. I never even saw them, but the <a href="http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2009/10/17-City-of-Champions-CX.asp">results </a>say that Erik Petterson won with last year's winner, Jacob Morrison, right behind.<br />
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I didn't see the women's race, but I heard there were only two competitors so it wasn't much of a race. <br />
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The masters-45 race was a friendly battle between Sam Morse and Kevin Hines, teammates on the Corner Cycle team. They rode away from the field and came on to the paved finishing stretch together on the final lap. They wound up the sprint but Sam pulled out of his left pedal, leaving Kevin to take the win by a length.<br />
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Sam and Kevin lined up again for the Masters-35 race but they got some company when course designer Mark McCormack signed in. Mark was the only rider I saw hopping the barriers on the uphill near the start. This bought him a few seconds each lap while the others dismounted and then had to chase back on to stay with him. Only Kevin managed to stay with him and they sprinted out the finish with Markie taking a narrow victory.<br />
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Last year the Wrentham race was a lot of fun despite being quite cold. This year wasn't quite as cold (at least the ground didn't start off frozen this time) but it didn't look like much fun at all. I was heading to Amherst for a conference for work and the race was almost directly on my way there. Still, I wisely decided not to race this one myself and just watched the elite race on my way to the conference. I watched for all of twenty minutes in 38 degree pouring rain before DNF'ing as a spectator. But that was longer than a few of the racers lasted. This was the kind of day when most racers "warmed up" in their car and waited until the last possible minute to get on their bike. It also led to some interesting equipment choices including <a href="http://www.crossresults.com/">Colin "Results Boy" Reuter</a> selecting rubber dish washing cloves to keep his results-entering fingers warm and dry. If the gloves worked, whatever else he had on apparently didn't because he passed me on his bike as we were both heading to our cars with most of the race still to go. And he wasn't the first or last to retire from the race. Only 17 riders finished and there are 38 in the results including all of the DNFs. These were the worst conditions I have seen at a race and apparently it got worse after I left. If you too had the good sense to skip this race this year, you may remember watching the Patriots demolish the Titans in 4 inches of snow at Foxboro. Well, Wrentham is just a bunny hop, chain skip, and bike throw down Route 1 from Foxboro and the snow fell there as well before the race was over. Sorry I missed that part (not). <br />
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<strong>Downeast Cyclocross, New Gloucester Maine, October 24-25</strong><br />
The pattern of one rainy day/one nice day continued when the Verge series resumed. The <a href="http://www.mainecyclingclub.com/">Maine Cycling Club</a> did a great job putting on this race, the first time at the UCI level. Near constant rain and hundreds of pairs of bike tires turned the fields and trails of <a href="http://www.pinelandfarms.org/">Pineland Farm</a> in New Gloucester into the proverbial "mud pit" on Saturday. I got to do the anouncing for this one as Richard Fries, the usual announcer for the Verge series races, was out of town at the USGP in Louisville. As wet as it was, working all day in the rain at this race was no where near as uncomfortable as the twenty minutes I spent at Wrentham the previous weekend.<br />
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Mo Bruno-Roy had a tangle at the start line with Amanda Carey so they lost the whole shot and had to chase to get back into contention. Natasha Elliot (Garneau) took the early lead by several seconds while Bruno-Roy and Carey made their way through the field. They managed to pass every one but Elliot, who remianed off the front for several laps. But they couldn't drop Andrea Smith (Minuteman RC) and Mary McConnelog (Kenda/Seven). The four women formed a chase group and closed the gap to Elliot. As Bruno-Roy put the pressure on, the group fell apart and only Carey could stay with her. As she did in (old) Gloucester weeks ago, Carey proved that she is very good in the mud, especially for a first year cross racer. When Brnuno-Roy and Carey caught Elliot, they completed their run from the back to the front of the race and would finish one-two on the podium with Elliot third. Elliot would later say that she regretted not pushing a little harder while she was in the lead to establish an insurmountable gap. But under the conditions, she did well to hang on to third. All three women fought hard until the end and it wasn't decided until the final hair pin on the grass before a short paved sprint to the line. Usually, a cyclocross race is decided long before the final meters, but this one was a battle right up until the end when Bruno-Roy just had a little bit more left in her than the others.<br />
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As the rain continued and the temperatures dropped a bit, Dan Timmerman (Sachs) and Luke Keough (Champion Systems) started the men's race on the front row in the leader's jerseys of the elite men and the under 23 men respectively. They would take the hole shot and hit the muddy field first. With the rain falling constantly, the grass field was a mess with chocolate milk mud but it was watery enough that it didn't stick to the bikes too badly and most of the course remained ridable despite deep tracks. Timmerman was clearly the class of the field and had seemingly little trouble handling the mud and his competitors. Keough hung tough to take second while Josh Dillon (Sachs) closed several places in the last two laps to earn himself a spot on the podium by the end of the race. But the weather remained bad and many of the riders were near hypothermic so we cancelled the podium events. There weren't any spectators left at that point anyway, even Downeast Mainers know when to call it a day and admit that the weather sometimes wins.<br />
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As bad as Day 1's weather was for the racers, Day 2 started with blue skies from the sunrise and stayed that way. If you didn't have to race, Day 2 made up for all the rain Day 1. Unfortunately for the riders, Maine cow pasture mud does not dry out as fast as the sky and we were left with atrocious mud that would go from chocalate milk, to peanut butter, to concrete throughout the day. Riding the same course but in the opposite direction from Saturday, the lower category men and women were kind enough to take quite a bit of the mud with them throughout the morning, but there was still plenty left for the elite racers. The officials noticed during the early races that even the seemingly mild hils of the cow pasture had become unridable in the thick goop so they re-routed the course slightly to take advantage of grass that had previously been outside the barrier tape. This slight realignment made all the difference and the course was again ready for a cyclo-cross race.<br />
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The result of the women's race was about the same as Day 1 with Mo Bruno-Roy taking another win and proving that she is a mudder. This one came with a lot less drama and a more comfortable margin as she held off Mary McConneloug and Natasha Elliot.<br />
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Dan Timmerman worked the pits for his team manager/sponser, Richard Sachs, during the masters race. One wise guy asked if that was in his contract with the team but Dan was too busy rushing off to the bike wash with Richard's bike to think of a snappy comeback. Apparently, it was a good warm up for him because he had another fine day in the saddle when his turn came a couple of hours later. If you were wondering, Richard did return the favor for Dan during the elite race. The pit crews were very busy thoughout the day as almost every rider in contention in the race made several bike changes, sometimes within a half lap. And the bikes were coming into the pits absoutely clogged up with mud. Fortunately, by the time the elite races started, a hose connection closer to the pit was found cutting the commute to the bike wash down to about one quarter of what it was on Day 1. <br />
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Timmerman and Keough got off to good starts again and stayed near the front until the race went out of site in the woods on the north side of the course. Kirt Fitzpatrick (Sexual Camel) came out of the woods in first place with a wide gap on the rest. Something happened back there while they were out of site, and Fitzpatrick took full advantage of it. He was flying coming into the cow pasture and taking some big risks in the rutted mud. With some of the biggest names in the sport away at the USGP in Loiusville for the weekend, the Downeast races were a golden opportunity for some of the lesser known riders to shine, but no one would have predicted the man from the Sexual Camel racing team would lead for the first two and a half laps before finally getting caught by the Verge series leader, Dan Timmerman. Fortunately, Fitzpatrick had a video comera on the front of one of his bikes and caught <a href="http://www.vimeo.com/7270974">some nice footage</a> of the race (thanks to <a href="http://www.untilthesnowends.blogspot.com/">Colin</a> for the tip, I never would have found it on my own). <br />
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Apparently <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKXD-on9pM_2rOzRqmYpMhpEWOQ_v-haX2gESFLPVkoCzSIjIoHfk6aFqEUwWmGfXVXgy6jzh-a2sZjVTQmxqAL9V1Yd_93e4yFtiYZJKGoHlJwxq2vwRiRR3hr8buA7R6kgAzp0TkRdnS/s1600-h/DSCF2057.JPG">Fitzpatrick, the Sexual Camel</a>, has been drinking heartily from the Oasis of Awesomeness and stored it up in his legs for this race. Fitzpatrick did eventually get passed by five other riders but held on for 6th. Timmerman and Justine Lindine (Joe's Garage/IF) were the first to pass him about half way through the race and went on to sprint the final 300 meters down the muddy dirt road in a battle for first place. Timmerman led it out with Lindine glued to his wheel. Surprisingly, Timmerman took the time to adjust his glasses with his right hand as they reached top speed but that wasn't enough to give Lindine a chance to get around and Timmeman took another win. The U23 battle between Gavin Mannion (Hot Tubes) and Luke Keough was won this time by Mannion who also rounded out the podium for the elite race. Josh Dillon put another come from behind trick and took 5th. Derrick St. John (Garneau) had been in contention for a podium spot but mangled his rear deraileur somewhere out of site in the woods on the last lap. He had to run with his bike on his shoulder for several minutes to get to the pit with a quarter lap to go. On a new bike, he held on for 8th. It would have been easy to pack it in and quit, but 8th place prize money in a UCI race is still enough to replace the deraileur and pay for some gas money back to Ontario Canada.<br />
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<strong>Canton Cup, October 31</strong><br />
This one I raced, sort of. Bike racers often have a problem telling the difference between <em>excuses</em> for failure and <em>reasons</em> for failure and I am no exception. This time I think I have a good reason, and certainly a novel one that you haven't heard before: I sucked at Canton (even by my modest standards) because the day before the race I climbed to the top of the new wind turbine at work and my legs were beat. You would be surprised at the weird muscles that get sore after climbing up, and then down, a 300-foot tall ladder. When I got on my bike Saturday, I realized just how bad it was. But I'd do it again, the view of Cape Cod and Buzzard's Bay from up there was worth it. My warm up wasn't great either and that didn't help (OK, I am veering off into excuses now, I know). Anyway, I didn't lose, I didn't get hurt, and I didn't damage my bike so it wasn't all bad. And I got in a good workout before <a href="http://www.cycle-smart.com/events/neccs/schedule/csi">Northampton</a>. That reminds me, I need to prereg for that tonight so I don't have to start in the back row again. Se ya, got to go.......startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-71229652345504109752009-10-14T01:04:00.000-04:002009-10-14T01:04:56.423-04:00Providence Cyclocross Festival, Day 1 and 2, October 10 and 11The big news on Saturday was that Tim Johnson did it again. In addition to winning, he again took out another rider for the second straight race. But this time it wasn't a former world's silver medalist (i.e. Jon Page), it was a 6 year old kid riding his BMX bike around the infield after the race. <br />
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I barely saw it happen out of the corner of my eye - Tim was starting to ride down hill from the finish area past the bike expo and toward the podium after winning the race. The young guy, whose name was Ryder, was riding right into Tim's path and Tim had little choice but to t-bone Ryder, knocking him off the bike. I doubt Tim even saw the kid until it was too late. <br />
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Too many kids are conditioned to think that they should cry when they fall down even if they aren't hurt. To his credit, Ryder got up like a true cyclocrosser and didn't shed a single tear. I just missed having the camera out, and apparently Cyclingdirt.com was nowhere near the scene this time, but I did get a shot of Ryder soon after he got up:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5rqhgr-_8-kSeqvKVa1lJ91blqlLOIAkRYfOHjyggR3ub5lbhB9uaEjLCETBTJsemkbkIBelPfgydLYiTbh7WTy5TfUqSMHVmJOWJ5odrHkJpyxrEaeLwhTc6ihI9FVqWJazjHbwkQ6xF/s1600-h/DSCF2105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5rqhgr-_8-kSeqvKVa1lJ91blqlLOIAkRYfOHjyggR3ub5lbhB9uaEjLCETBTJsemkbkIBelPfgydLYiTbh7WTy5TfUqSMHVmJOWJ5odrHkJpyxrEaeLwhTc6ihI9FVqWJazjHbwkQ6xF/s400/DSCF2105.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Always wear your helmet, kids. You never know when TJ might be near.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Tim really is a nice guy. He went out of his way to make sure that Ryder was ok and chatted for a couple minutes with Ryder and his parents. Once the kid was back on his bike and everything was alright, Tim said "Come on kid, you and me are going to the podium." He later gave Ryder his first place medal.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">TJ and Ryder heading for the podium<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">TJ doing the post-race interview<br />
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That was actually the end of the day. A lot happened leading up to it. I got to Providence in time for the Elite Women's and Men's races but missed everything before that, including the race that I had preregistered for. When I went to bed Friday evening, I was planning on racing Saturday morning despite a sore throat and stuffy nose. But it got much worse overnight and at about 2 AM I woke up and turned the alarm off so I could try to sleep it off. $30 down the drain, but I would have been completely miserable if I had tried to race. I slept around the clock and felt good enough to spectate Saturday afternoon.<br />
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Readers of this blog (Dave Foley, my mom, my parole officer) might recall that I ruined my camera in the rain at Gloucester last week. That's actually a good thing, I hated that camera. It missed more shots than it got and it would kill a pair of AAs every 20 minutes. I got a new Fujifilm S1500 on Friday and with no practice at all, started taking much better photos than I ever have before. Wait until I learn how to use this thing! It was kind of an impulsive purchase because it was the only real camera the store had, the rest of them looked even cheaper than the one I had ruined. But it got the Paul Weiss seal of approval Saturday so it must be alright. Hey Paul, what does appurture mean? I have a lot to learn, but here are some of the photos I took of the women's race:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCdwtqtlI4JBDHEutaVWgVlI-uzRng0ICHLs2b4xAwbsk8tGPSoemAeHPGN43eoTARewDBasYI8RZrzHvWShDw8n7L1BLP3UZ2Z84gql6YoY8jAwjLfylGx_CfGjL10G7no6_dKgMC_gW/s1600-h/DSCF2010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCdwtqtlI4JBDHEutaVWgVlI-uzRng0ICHLs2b4xAwbsk8tGPSoemAeHPGN43eoTARewDBasYI8RZrzHvWShDw8n7L1BLP3UZ2Z84gql6YoY8jAwjLfylGx_CfGjL10G7no6_dKgMC_gW/s400/DSCF2010.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Those yellow Mavic shoes are getting popular.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mo Bruno (blue tape) didn't look comfortable in the race or on the line.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gXUzcJjMj1pgDdweCUrRlPKn3z0CHe52ONtok6AWhN9hTfbP_26twd_WdB2OieiNa14b3hzBTNeGf50fVRQVSusz_gu0alCNOVkdcFMxMvxYKDz9j7Q9oukVmPfiKOwjeuYY_-2WVNLe/s1600-h/DSCF2022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gXUzcJjMj1pgDdweCUrRlPKn3z0CHe52ONtok6AWhN9hTfbP_26twd_WdB2OieiNa14b3hzBTNeGf50fVRQVSusz_gu0alCNOVkdcFMxMvxYKDz9j7Q9oukVmPfiKOwjeuYY_-2WVNLe/s400/DSCF2022.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Amy Dombroski had a very strong ride in 3rd place.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Rebecca Wellons heading to the finish<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">The women's podium with Richard Fries (l to r): Katerina Nash (1st), <br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Amy Dombroski (3rd) and Mary McConneloug (2nd)<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Ms. Nash had the race in the bag early on and not much seemed to change after the first lap. Mary McConneloug was sort of a surprise finishing second in her first cross race of the year. Amy Dombroski is riding very strong and finished third. The podium was exactly the same on Day 2. The Verge points series leader heading into the weekend, Natasha Elliot wasn't present this weekend, probably so she could attend the Canadian National cross championships, so the leaders jersey was in jeopordy. Mo Bruno, who has scored points in all six races so far took the lead by 16 points. Rebecca Wellons has stayed close by being competitive in every race and is currently third in the series.<br />
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In the men's race, Dan Timmerman needed to finish well against some strong competion to retain his series lead and he managed to do that with an eighth place finish Saturday and 5th on Sunday. He finished the weekend tied with Tim Johnson for the series lead.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Series leader Dan Timmerman at the start line.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz2ygzJSG0bJ2iVOTmkZXKASo_ah8tI2LJ7_7qanADIXT9LaONIq4BIo2uHjw28VytSC3rebBbW51BXiu28zti7_1T4k4pCWOcktoivNeLSah_QQWANdjtE0PqP55v3uFDr0X4_TyM0oKN/s1600-h/DSCF2063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz2ygzJSG0bJ2iVOTmkZXKASo_ah8tI2LJ7_7qanADIXT9LaONIq4BIo2uHjw28VytSC3rebBbW51BXiu28zti7_1T4k4pCWOcktoivNeLSah_QQWANdjtE0PqP55v3uFDr0X4_TyM0oKN/s400/DSCF2063.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My new camera has a "panorama" feature that stitches together 3 pictures. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Well, sort of. It needs work.<br />
</div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev_oeiQXjGDgZGHzag1DWWkQFQeRp7B3KZ9hh6iCuBPJaOkWxDazEKcWzSJgPHQNztLkqqKSaBzok7F73kzDYd3VN_KFWszBchd_aA48BNkz6hl0_r81OZcJExig8i-kcVeLGv2ZK1vkT/s1600-h/DSCF2066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev_oeiQXjGDgZGHzag1DWWkQFQeRp7B3KZ9hh6iCuBPJaOkWxDazEKcWzSJgPHQNztLkqqKSaBzok7F73kzDYd3VN_KFWszBchd_aA48BNkz6hl0_r81OZcJExig8i-kcVeLGv2ZK1vkT/s400/DSCF2066.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Adam Myerson and Tim Johnson at the start line.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKXD-on9pM_2rOzRqmYpMhpEWOQ_v-haX2gESFLPVkoCzSIjIoHfk6aFqEUwWmGfXVXgy6jzh-a2sZjVTQmxqAL9V1Yd_93e4yFtiYZJKGoHlJwxq2vwRiRR3hr8buA7R6kgAzp0TkRdnS/s1600-h/DSCF2057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKXD-on9pM_2rOzRqmYpMhpEWOQ_v-haX2gESFLPVkoCzSIjIoHfk6aFqEUwWmGfXVXgy6jzh-a2sZjVTQmxqAL9V1Yd_93e4yFtiYZJKGoHlJwxq2vwRiRR3hr8buA7R6kgAzp0TkRdnS/s400/DSCF2057.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sexual Camel? Must be a mountain bike thing.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV3qVKyzoOVvLuajdyNQya_sot9J_Od1EYBrLPQNs1U7MIfrz5oAhUelZSVKfRJpgInlf8bdQayiHPbaimTsjXmdsydSBach8S3xmImG4OisJgtBWFMofi1i7QCT3TE-TCsoTdSSF9viyr/s1600-h/DSCF2072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV3qVKyzoOVvLuajdyNQya_sot9J_Od1EYBrLPQNs1U7MIfrz5oAhUelZSVKfRJpgInlf8bdQayiHPbaimTsjXmdsydSBach8S3xmImG4OisJgtBWFMofi1i7QCT3TE-TCsoTdSSF9viyr/s400/DSCF2072.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Chris Jones, a roadie (not Rhodey) thing.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKjN7vm8EKH1gRtXL5-cedgkx_WPvY4AjIHzeuNiyyyn6xKcWCDiGiD4iIGu__5oixGp9pQDimnamH1aQolqTzQUnS5ESd0wleT6Zju-z4p5OlEVIK_s9Z69w9Q9Lhd40hD7MoeW9kdbq/s1600-h/DSCF2073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKjN7vm8EKH1gRtXL5-cedgkx_WPvY4AjIHzeuNiyyyn6xKcWCDiGiD4iIGu__5oixGp9pQDimnamH1aQolqTzQUnS5ESd0wleT6Zju-z4p5OlEVIK_s9Z69w9Q9Lhd40hD7MoeW9kdbq/s400/DSCF2073.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Frattini, Weighall, and Timmerman<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVbzEUB9nhQMyEjpIeV1Sptw9rjCVw4-BVl3XDinn-NTpjw1Qu29mDnIrI7uT2_Him2KitvSNkinLAZtoQR-GcsmSxursMJ66erKkFk3E52lpHv0cGKOP4S3pkordzUnxUuN9DsbloX1zK/s1600-h/DSCF2082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVbzEUB9nhQMyEjpIeV1Sptw9rjCVw4-BVl3XDinn-NTpjw1Qu29mDnIrI7uT2_Him2KitvSNkinLAZtoQR-GcsmSxursMJ66erKkFk3E52lpHv0cGKOP4S3pkordzUnxUuN9DsbloX1zK/s400/DSCF2082.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A beer thief dabs in the woods.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNp_FoS80PzXWS2wbW0kPnLVOSPfiuqkXm-StqrBppFhmmhKZ9_27JymOAFRrpyMd3lxUJpv8nMToaQTAFLbTfWltjjo-h0PnlBK_bMEdwIScrCw3RNumS2dnkcxHaMqckK0L8JEBCjk1t/s1600-h/DSCF2085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNp_FoS80PzXWS2wbW0kPnLVOSPfiuqkXm-StqrBppFhmmhKZ9_27JymOAFRrpyMd3lxUJpv8nMToaQTAFLbTfWltjjo-h0PnlBK_bMEdwIScrCw3RNumS2dnkcxHaMqckK0L8JEBCjk1t/s400/DSCF2085.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Does Adam squeeze the brake levers with fingers <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">or push them with the palms of his hands?<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnl1JicNDzB6ZcPTqg40UEMJsYK_muMXE-S1sDPiEEbzmgqNYseVHQI2MrTpZ_XWDELnT6cavFJOpfzXP3e_iOrEeXgZBrlhyphenhyphen2k5mN-Z2_8FhiAyeUoU1IwR0hRualj_XxqOd3ZSYcP1VW/s1600-h/DSCF2088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnl1JicNDzB6ZcPTqg40UEMJsYK_muMXE-S1sDPiEEbzmgqNYseVHQI2MrTpZ_XWDELnT6cavFJOpfzXP3e_iOrEeXgZBrlhyphenhyphen2k5mN-Z2_8FhiAyeUoU1IwR0hRualj_XxqOd3ZSYcP1VW/s400/DSCF2088.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tim Johnson is telling me to "go left, go left". After he went by I understood why. He planned to stretch the tape out on this corner while he carried maximum speed. Pro tip: The course tape is fair game. If it doesn't break, you are still on the course.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQBFKSAsiiHKjmNIDcqU84_dLI_0dTskAp2g4RD9nhwwXP9pPm8FEl2VEff1aurjkX72Jtf0m7NwjY73auKdocJha3Khv1A_377KeJqY-uSXWnHAgRVPK2jaJV_s2DEdGLfiA_65o9IoE/s1600-h/DSCF2096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQBFKSAsiiHKjmNIDcqU84_dLI_0dTskAp2g4RD9nhwwXP9pPm8FEl2VEff1aurjkX72Jtf0m7NwjY73auKdocJha3Khv1A_377KeJqY-uSXWnHAgRVPK2jaJV_s2DEdGLfiA_65o9IoE/s400/DSCF2096.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Results Boy takes the same line just a moment later. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Exactly how long is a "moment" anyway?<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8GvzODVm4__bJEj5BexPY0jysLws4O4rmcGHQSQ8PSinCOBKdEk_S7rTWhVCLiXvEj4bhnMeD2S0YLfVuVCxHH-T7gV-6M0jn2BGlzkH0ddMshAnOSR1qbgi128gnJo33T7N6wvZehwxh/s1600-h/DSCF2115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8GvzODVm4__bJEj5BexPY0jysLws4O4rmcGHQSQ8PSinCOBKdEk_S7rTWhVCLiXvEj4bhnMeD2S0YLfVuVCxHH-T7gV-6M0jn2BGlzkH0ddMshAnOSR1qbgi128gnJo33T7N6wvZehwxh/s320/DSCF2115.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here is Butch Balzano from SRAM digging through the car looking for some chain rings for Adam Myerson after the race. Van Dessel gave Adam cranks and chain rings with 53 tooth outer rings. Adam was flattered, but decided to build his 2009 cross rigs with something a bit smaller. Butch is the man.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sunday mornng I awoke feeling much better and decided to do the day of registration for the Cat 4 masters race. Being a day of registrant, I got to start DFL in the last row. I was number 769 and two guys registered after me bringing the total to 71 in the race (counting any preregistered riders who might have been sick and stayed in bed). I was still kind of clogged up from the cold, but I went ok. I passed a bunch on the paved start and kept the pressure on when we reached the grass. The first turns were a pinball game but I managed to get a couple of good bounces and didn't have to get off the bike where others did. I must have gotten near the top 25 on the first lap, but then I started to slide. I lost about 4 or 5 places per lap for the rest of the race and didn't stop sliding until the last half lap. 37th out of 71 is practically top half if you assume that all everyone was there and that DNFs are last (there are only 58 or so i nthe results). So, I almost made my goal of being in the top half and I am getting better each race. Considering my starting position, I'll call it a pass. I wonder what I could have done if I was healthy Saturday and got my prereg starting spot. I think I would have been in the third row, maybe fourth.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My coach, Negacoach, was heckling me during the race and yelled something completely useless about riding too slow to deserve to have a beard. WTF? Try telling me something useful like "get the water bottle out of your back pocket, it's only a half hour long race!" That might have been helpful since I had forgotten to ditch it at the line and rode the entire race looking like a Fred with that bottle back there. I am surprised I never felt it when the bike was on my shoulder on a run up. At least I had a nice sip of Hs, twos, and Os handy at the finish. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So I had the Fred water bottle thing going against me, but I felt totally pro using embrocation for the first time ever, unless Bag Balm counts as embrocation. We used to use Bag Balm in the spring time, especially if it was raining, because tights or warmers would get soaking wet and heavy. But you had to have your legs shaved or it made an awful mess. I haven't shaved them since my Cat 3 days a long time ago, but I found that the Mad Alchemy stuff isn't too bad with hairy legs, it just doesn't look as pro. Even the mildest heat level was pleasant in the morning chill. The only down side was that it lasted well into the night and felt quite hot under the covers when I didn't really want it to. I probably could have wiped it off more thoroughly and avoided the bedwarmer effect.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After my race was over it was time to head back to Plymouth for a gig with my band at noon. I was cutting it close, but made it just in time. When we started playing, my head just wasn't into it. I usually remember the lyrics to songs that I sing pretty easily, but something wasn't right in my head all afternoon and I kept forgetting the lyrics to songs that I wrote and covers that I have sung hundreds of times. It was weird. And that sweet precious nectar, beer, didn't seem to help. I probably won't try to race and play music professionally in the same day again. But despite the mental block, it was a fun afternoon. Stop by T Bones Road House in Plymouth November 1 at noon if you aren't heading to Vermont for the cross race.<br />
</div>startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-37502769962857260572009-10-07T00:42:00.001-04:002009-10-07T00:43:37.720-04:00What, no cupcakes?<em>Normally I write race reports from the detached persepctive of a (not very good) journalist. Third person omnicient voice if I recall high school English class correctly. This one's going to be a little different as, instead of actually paying attention and keeping notes, I spent my time cheering, drinking beer, racing, and then drinking beer again while cheering. Foregive me if this goes astray:</em><br />
<br />
The only thing missing at Gloucester was cupcakes. It's entirely possible I spent too much time in the beer tent and missed them, but I didn't see a cupcake in all of Stage Fort Park. But that's my only complaint. <br />
<br />
The conditions were perfect for 'cross with plenty of rain Saturday to create that euro mud vibe we mostly only see in videos, and then a mostly sunny day Sunday. This created almost entirely different conditions from Saturday to Sunday, at least for the elite races. When I was out there Sunday morning it was still a mudfest but at least the moisture was only coming from below, not from the clouds. The mud that stuck to four or five hundred bikes throughout the morning and early afternoon Sunday was enough to leave a relatively dry course for the two elite races. Here is the dreaded run up in all its muddy glory Saturday afternoon:<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkAhdVl0kkXedcIQmEYCec3zDxKVZQV-BBW5O1reIb8uQ71HfVjC5vmIQWgur3BO3b4PPX3co9oZ56eDt_K_PwaQM9C_9KfeASaxDpMXLx1Git655VWuvXvWDfykpylj9FpMn50ekLVQv/s1600-h/101_0826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkAhdVl0kkXedcIQmEYCec3zDxKVZQV-BBW5O1reIb8uQ71HfVjC5vmIQWgur3BO3b4PPX3co9oZ56eDt_K_PwaQM9C_9KfeASaxDpMXLx1Git655VWuvXvWDfykpylj9FpMn50ekLVQv/s400/101_0826.JPG" /></a><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I couldn't race Saturday do to other commitments, but I arrived in G'ster in time to watch the last three races of the day (B's, Elite Women, and Elite Men). During the B race, I ran into <a href="http://www.solobreak.blogspot.com/">Solobreak</a> Foley as he was coming out of the porta-john. He had set me up me with some frosty beverage last year at the <a href="http://startfinishbikenews.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2008-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&updated-max=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=31">Ice Weasel's race</a> so I owed him a beer or two. As he already had a bit of a head start on me, it didn't take much convincing for him to join me in the <a href="http://www.greatbrewers.com/">Great Brewers</a> beer tent. They had EIGHT different beers on tap from eight different craft brewers, most of them local to New England. My favorite was the <a href="http://www.smuttynose.com/">Smuttynose</a> Belgian-style single, followed closely by the <a href="http://www.capeannbrewing.com/">Cape Ann</a> pumpkin stout.<br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">During the elite race, Solobreak and I were hanging near the fence at the back of the beer area. A few laps into it, <a href="http://www.thejonathanpage.com/">Jonathan Page</a> had a commanding lead. He thundered past us on one of the drier stretches of the course followed by <a href="http://www.exit17.net/">Ryan Kelly</a>. Ryan saw my 1/2 full beer hanging over the fence and yelled "beer me!". Solobreak credits Joachim Parbo for this, but it was Ryan (both were in red and white and covered in mud so it's an understandable mistake after a few beers). Ryan was going considerably slower than Page since he had just been lapped by Page so he had no trouble grabbing onto the beer cup and he downed it before he was three pedal strokes away. He then apparently abandonned the race soon after because we didn't see him again. Ryan created <a href="http://www.road-results.com/">road-results.com</a> (along with <a href="http://www.untilthesnowends.blogspot.com/">Colin</a>) which helps me immensely with race announcing, so I wouldn't mind buying him a whole beer of his own sometime. <br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">If you haven't read a <a href="http://www.velonews.com/">real race report</a> by professional journalists yet, Page won the race by a country mile with moustache-less Jamey Driscoll behind in second, followed by Chris Jones. In what seemed like a very short women's race, Natasha Elliot won convincingly while a new women on the scene, Amanda Carey, took second. Lynne Bessette is out of retirement and took third place. Here are a couple of shots from the Women's race. My cheap camera took a beating in the rain. It didn't take long for the picture quality to deteriorate. I think my camera is ruined, but that's a good thing since I have always hated that camera. Good excuse to get a new one.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSoq13H9djIC3lRJ1GzrxlaHZJI6UvkMm5nRVKUcYXEwnAz7Xrl2FCs_3mWuaEMj6Lv19dqU09VYlkkShTRz1IwpL7Usk4AWmQ4En7WD_hm62gBXlC_UXUIPpRK0Xas9XD9iit8t6RTmA/s1600-h/101_0834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSoq13H9djIC3lRJ1GzrxlaHZJI6UvkMm5nRVKUcYXEwnAz7Xrl2FCs_3mWuaEMj6Lv19dqU09VYlkkShTRz1IwpL7Usk4AWmQ4En7WD_hm62gBXlC_UXUIPpRK0Xas9XD9iit8t6RTmA/s400/101_0834.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Series leader and race winner, Natasha Elliot.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAMuHTln-GMWr_5WuW2ETfU5Cmm5iaded1q6ZxjAd-fHBCUvQpIqR5TcqrKTfGF2metQF5r6drRf1_81s2Ob_BsBjePOKao-uNAYAH38dgJ1jIZxZSGPvhpvwrpk4ZxgGLIAPqJ9XNnbx/s1600-h/101_0846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAMuHTln-GMWr_5WuW2ETfU5Cmm5iaded1q6ZxjAd-fHBCUvQpIqR5TcqrKTfGF2metQF5r6drRf1_81s2Ob_BsBjePOKao-uNAYAH38dgJ1jIZxZSGPvhpvwrpk4ZxgGLIAPqJ9XNnbx/s320/101_0846.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Rebecca Wellons<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Amanda Carey<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Saturday's typical conditions, mudfest.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Sunday morning at 9:00 I took the line with the rest of the masters Cat 4 field. Actually, I took the 8th line out of 11 so I figure I started the race in a bout 85th place. I need to start pre-registering earlier for these things. I had a pretty good start and passed a bunch of people in the twisty stuff after the pavement. But then I biffed it on the section behind the building which I think was the slippiest part of the course. My chain dropped off too, just to make sure I lost all the places I had been making up in the turns. We did four laps through this section and I only cleaned it once. <br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I normally have a pretty good sense of direction but this Gloucester course completely screwed with my head. No matter where on the course I was, I could never remember what feature was coming up next. The worst for this was the multple coils around the pits. It probably didn't help that I didn't pre-ride the course. I could still go through Sucker Brook in my mind now 8 days later and remember every feature in order, but I couldn't follow that Gloucester course now without the course tape and it's only one day later. Is it just me? <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Entering the final lap I was going back and forth passing and being passed by a couple of other no-hopers. One guy had traded places with me a couple of times but I had the upper hand going through the start finish line as we got the bell for the last lap. He came storming past me on the right and picked up a lot of speed as the pavement began to slope downhill. It was just him and me at that point and I heard a little kid voice say "Go daddy." I knew that wasn't for me. My dog's smart but not that smart. I guess this guy was trying to show off for his family and giving it everything he had. He must have forgotten that he had to veer right into a bumpy dirt section with an off camber turn to the right. I don't think he even touched his brakes before he blew the turn big time and fell hard. I don't want to say he was screaming, but it was like a cross between that and a moan. A deep manly scream I guess you could say. He lied there crumpled up tangled in his bike and the white course tape he had taken out. I nearly added to his woes, but managed to stop barely before running into him. I waited for a couple of seconds and called for help until I saw a couple of spectators running our way. Then I figured it was ok to get back to racing. I found out later he broke some ribs and a wrist and was taken to the hospital. Bad enough to get hurt, but to do it in front of the whole family must be extra painful.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I had modest goals for this race (as I always do). I had hoped to finish in the top half of the race. 68th out of 86 finishers isn't top half, but considering all those that started and didn't finish, it's pretty close. I felt a little better about my result after I checked the bib numbers of all those ahead of me in the results (<a href="http://www.bikereg.com/">bikereg</a> and <a href="http://www.crossresults.com/">cross results</a> rule!) to see how much the starting positions affected the race. I found that of 67 people who finished ahead of me, only 12 of them started behind me (based on bib numbers). I can live with that. Using the <a href="http://www.bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/">BikesnobNYC</a> pass/fail rating system for race success, I guess I call it a pass, but I hope to go better next week.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I ran into Adam Myerson as he was preparing for the elite men's race and we talked a few minutes about music and UMass before I actually paid attention to what he was doing. As he sat in his driver's seat he had pulled his skinsuit up backwards over his legs. I had to ask what he was doing but then at the same time he took out some safety pins (from his pocket, not his skin) and started pinning up his bib numbers on the stretched material. How pro is that? A perfectly flat number every time. Maybe everybody knows to do this, but it was new to me. It's going to be a while before I where a skinsuit (another 10 pounds at least) but it should work just as well on a jersey. I can't wait for Providence!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNabqW96IHufl0mg3QX0lOeTwLihcD-lhcLTYN5A-3YguYW6MYyxxeIvGd8ANncNRR0QWvKlcO8jCugOORkgOCSqWJrQmOz19o0QdrU3F9pJ_xLuEHwoOLwL4B7yS-Z7ZEts6QrA1Rrpav/s1600-h/101_0882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNabqW96IHufl0mg3QX0lOeTwLihcD-lhcLTYN5A-3YguYW6MYyxxeIvGd8ANncNRR0QWvKlcO8jCugOORkgOCSqWJrQmOz19o0QdrU3F9pJ_xLuEHwoOLwL4B7yS-Z7ZEts6QrA1Rrpav/s320/101_0882.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Adam even pins up the pro way.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">At this point I had completely lost track of the time, but I knew I was ready for a beer. As it turns out, I got to the beer tent exactly at high noon and got the first beer of the day! That's the one race I can win. After a few minutes, some friends from my club showed up and we had a great time comparing war stories from our races while seated at the table with the best view of the course and the ocean. One of the guys had been doing well in the 55 plus race when he rolled a tubular. He wasn't the only one. I don't recall seeing so many rolled tubulars in a race as there were Sunday. 3M Fasttack seems to work for me now that I have figured out (the ouchie way) that I need 4 times more than I would use on a road tire. I just doomed myself didn't I?<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The women's elite race Sunday was another competitive and exciting race. Natasha Elliot repeated with Laura Van Gilder finishing second on a flat (but not rolled) rear tire. Mo Bruno-Roy was not far behind in third. The biggest improvement of the day was probably Rebecca Wellons who went from 10th Saturday to 5th Sunday.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">If you haven't seen the footage, the men's race came down to <a href="http://www.cyclingdirt.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235695-nact-3-4-grand-prix-of-gloucester/203121-page-crash-at-gp-gloucester-day-2">this</a>. People have been analyzing this like it's the Zapruder film and there seems to be some difference of opinion as to how agregious Tim's move was. I'll leave it for others to speculate if he was trying to take Page out or not. I can't really tell from the angle we have how much Tim slowed down when he got in front of Page and I think that is the crux of figuring out his intent. If he slammed the brakes, it was malicious. If he was just trying to scrub a little speed getting set up for the sand, I'm ok with that. Remember, he was nursing a sore shoulder that clearly had been giving him a lot of trouble all weekend, maybe he needed to be a little extra careful going into the sand and braked more than Page expected. As pointed out by <a href="http://www.cycle-smart.com/blog/">Adam Myerson</a>, Jeremy Powers showed a lot of class by not taking advantage of the situation with a big attack. Watch the video to the end and you'll see that Page apparently puts a shoulder into Powers as he passes him on the flat section after the sand pit. But they are getting pretty far away by that point so it's hard to say if it was payback for Johnson's move or just some frustration showing through. <br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">After the race the hurt feelings couldn't have gone too deep because Page was mostly all smiles signing autographs. I got this shot of him with my wet camera. He doesn't look like he is holding a grudge here, does he? <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifC6paDvWU4Qbn0sBuNwk1HdZDtqKJ2OmQHFh0Q6At0X_tsIltjsNH1C3wIOapav1VRJ7rbPS7f9kI-sJblGxNZ0C65zqYiB-amic6BLCWZSYr1-q7YiS8olR1P046WH49-e-cchmMjPz/s1600-h/101_0875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifC6paDvWU4Qbn0sBuNwk1HdZDtqKJ2OmQHFh0Q6At0X_tsIltjsNH1C3wIOapav1VRJ7rbPS7f9kI-sJblGxNZ0C65zqYiB-amic6BLCWZSYr1-q7YiS8olR1P046WH49-e-cchmMjPz/s320/101_0875.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Jon Page after Sunday's race.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">What a great weekend of cyclocross, but I really wanted a cupcake.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">P.S. - I'll be doing the announcing at the Maine Verge weekend on the 24-25th of October. If you have read this blog, stop by and say hi, even if you think it sucks.<br />
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</div>startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-79893074651291056582009-09-28T01:26:00.000-04:002009-09-28T01:26:31.964-04:00TD Bank Mayor's Cup - Boston, Mass September 26th, 2009The City of Boston, with sponsorship from TD Bank and Boloco restaurants, put on the biggest bicycle race in Boston in over 20 years, maybe the biggest ever. With $40,000 to be split evenly between the men's and women's Pro/Am fields, this one was sure to draw the best competitors from across the country and the region. And being the last big race of the season, it was sure to be a fitting send off to the 2009 road racing season.<br />
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Race promotor Nicole Freedman, a former Olympian originally from Wellesley, Mass, is the "Bike Czarina" for the City of Boston. It is her job to make Boston a more "bicyle friendly" place. That's a tall order in a city of crowded narrow streets originally laid out 300 years ago by cows on their way to pasture. But she has Mayor Menino's full support as he is a bicycle enthusiast himself, and the TD Bank Mayor's Cup is just one of many efforts she is heading up. If being the Bike Czarina and race promoter wasn't enough, she also competed in the race against the best women racers in the country. She might not be training like an Olympian these days with all the work she has to do, but she was strong enough to take second place the previous weekend in Portsmouth, NH. It is difficult enough to prepare for a race when the race is the only thing on your mind, but to toe the line and go head to head with the country's best while dealing with all of the race-day headaches that come with promoting a race is an almost super human effort. Still, Nicole held her own while the Colavita and Tibco professional teams set a blistering pace.<br />
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The weather was perfect and the venue couldn't be beat. The 0.7 mile lap around City Hall Plaza saw lots of race fans and lots of curious pedestrians just trying to get from one historic site to the next. Famed race announcer Dave Towle flew in from from Interbike in Vegas to be at the start/finish line which was at the top side of the plaza and I was honored to trade pulls on the mic with him until the racing started, at which time I went to the backside sprint line near the Union Oyster House to announce for the many spectators in that area. The original plan had been for Dave and I to trade pulls all day long despite being a quarter mile apart, but the sound system wasn't set up ideally to do that so we ended up doing our own things during the races with me heading back up to the start/finish line to help with the call ups and other announcer duties when possible. It's a good thing I brought my bike or I would have ended up jogging a couple of miles throughout the day and I don't like to run unless I have a bike on my shoulder.<br />
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It sure was fun to work with Dave Towle. If you have never heard him work a race before, he's kind of like Richard Fries but much much louder. He used to race, but I doubt he was much of a climber, the guy is built for basketball, not cycling. Tim Johnson, pro road and cyclo cross star from Beverly, Mass, was present to cheer on his wife, Lynne Besette, and he also grabbed a mic to add some color commentary when he could fit in a word or two with Dave.<br />
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The racing? You want to know what happened, in the race not just who did the announcing? Well, for those of you with twisted priorities, it went pretty much like this:<br />
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Racing started with the 5 heats of 10 kids each sprinting about 150 yards from the last corner to the start/finish line. The cute factor was through the roof until a slight mishap just after the start line caused some tears in the final heat. Oh well, that's bike racing. Everyone was fine and finished the race. <br />
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The women took the line at 3:00 with a mix of national pros and the best of the locals. Notably missing was Rebecca Wellons who had preregistered but must have made the decision to get an early start on defending her New England cyclo-cross series championship title instead of duking it out on the road with the professional teams. But we did have a who's who of women's cycling present including Tina Pic and Rachel Heal, both riding in the the final races of their professional careers, both with the Colavita team. Tina has been at it for about 20 years and has several hundred wins to her name. But after Boston she plans to become a manager of the Colavita team, as does Rachel. Also present was Brooke Miller (Tibco). When Dave and I were postulating ove the mic how Tina's impending retirement might alter the outcome of the race, Brook was nearby and let us know that there would be no retirement gift for Tina today, Tina would have to fight for the win, just like always.<br />
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The after call ups, the women took the course for what was planned to be a 60 minute race. They must have picked up the pace considerably after the officials calculated the number of laps to be completed because the race ended in about 50 minutes. It is unlikely that anyone out there minded, especially the less experienced local racers who were hanging on while the pros set the pace at the front. It was a less tactical affair than might have been expected The professional teams set a quick pace and gobbled up the prime money but no breaks got away and the field stayed together. Strong local riders like Anna McLoon and Danielle Ruane made their way toward the front on occasion. With two laps to go, the Colavita women used their superior numbers (5 women in the race) to set the lead out train for Tina Pic to go out in style. With half a lap to go, the train was down to just Tina and one teammate left in front of her. At the speed they were going, no one was going to come around them, not even Brooke Miller. Tina was delivered to the final sprintand pulled away in the finishing stretch where she won over Brooke by a couple of bike lengths to cap off her career. Jennifer McCrae (Type 1) was third. The prize list paid 20 deep so there was still plenty left for the locals in the 51 rider field. The top local rider was Mary Zider (Specialized) in ninth place.<br />
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There was a very entertaining mascot race between the mens and womens events. Wally the Green Monster, Pat Patriot, the Greenpeace Whale and others raced the same finishing stretch that the kids had raced earlier. Although Wally was apparently the crowd favorite, the Greenpeace whale had the strongest legs (go figure?) and won despite having a considerable portion of his tale caught between the back wheel and frame of his bike. That must have hurt worse than getting tangled in fishing gear. U2 once said - " A women needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle" (Yeah, I know a whale isn't a fish, but close enough for blogging). The photograph of Dave Towle interviewing the victorious whale is priceless, but not copywrited if anyone cares to use it (see below).<br />
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After the mascots finished warming down, it was time for the men's call ups. It was a group with local flavor. The three McCormack brothers who are originally from Plymouth, Mass, Jake Keough from Sandwich, Mass, Jon Bruno from Boston, Ted King from NH, Gavin Mannion from Dedham, Mass, and Dan Vallaincourt from Saco, Maine all drop their Rs when speaking. The only guys from out of town that started on the front row were Kyle Wamsley and Bobby Lea.<br />
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When they took off, they immediately wound it up to over 30 mph average speed. It didn't take more than 3 or 4 laps at that speed for the first casualties to start popping off the back. Then the prime bell rang for the first of the $500 cash primes. The field got strung out and the remaining racers from the 120 rider field became a single file train that took a long while to pass from engine to caboose. Various small attacks went noodling off the front but nothing stuck for long during the first half of the race. The first rider to stay out off the front for more than a lap was Jeff Buckles (Richmond Pro Cycling). Hopefully he pocketed a couple of primes on the top side of the course but as I recall, he happened to time his solo break in between primes on the backside line. <br />
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Buckles was re-absorved by the field but right around the halfway point Wamsley (Colavita), Ted King (Cervelo), Toby Marzot (Mountain Khakis), Sean Milne (Team Type 1), Clayton Barrows (CRCA), Bobby Lea (OUCH), and Jeff Buckles went off the front of the field one or two at a time, but quickly consolidated into a lead group of 7. With all the firepower needed, and the help of teammates blocking in the field, the writing was on the wall and this move was meant to stick. The Bikereg, Metlife, and Champion Systems teams tried to bring it back, as did Jake Keough (Kelly Benefit Strategies) but the well oiled machine stayed out of reach while the blockers in the field didn't allow too many riders to chase before throwing wrenches in the works. With lap times around 1:30 or less, the break was averaging over 30 mph and maintaining a lead of about 15 seconds until the fire in the field finally fizzled. They had brought the gap down to about 34 seconds, but it quickly grew again to 45 seconds (half a lap) with a bout 15 minutes left to race. <br />
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It looked briefly like the break of seven could catch the back side of the field if it collectively wanted to. Apparently not enough of the group of 7 wanted to see that happen, or it was just too late in the race, and the breakaway group maintained their place about a half lap ahead of the field for the remainder of the race. Kyle Wamsley hit the last half lap as hard as he could and no one from the break stayed on his wheel. He ended up pulling away for the victory by a few bike lengths over Sean Milne and Clayton Barrows (CRCA). They were followed in by Ted King, Toby Marzot who had the ride of his career so far, Jeff Buckles and Bobby Lea.<br />
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As it was getting dark at City Hall Plaza, the podium ceremonies for the women's and men's races were held and champagne was sprayed by all six podium finishers. The Mayor himself handed out the Mayor's Cup trophies to the winners and the sponsors handed each winner an offical Hub on Wheels winners jersey.<br />
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TD Bank is signed on as the title sponsor for two more years and the race is the centerpeice of Nicoles efforts to to make Boston a better place to ride a bike so, it looks like we will all be back next year. There is talk of the race becoming part of the National Racing Calendar (NRC) series which should bring even more of the best riders to Boston. <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Here are pictures from the event. They are not quite Graham Watson or Chris Milliman quality, but Rose did a fine job in her second assignment as startfinishbikenews race photog.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">The women's call up.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">The first few laps<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">The women's field <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Lynne Besette at the front<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Wally the Green Monster<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dave Towle interviews the Greenpeace Whale<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Men's call up <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">The Women's field<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Yeah, they were going that fast!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Kyle Wamsley pauses for refreshment, but not for long<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Wamsley recieves the winner's jersey<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mayor Menino and Tina Pic<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Tim Johnson, me (with a face made for radio), Dave Towle, and Brooke Miller<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">After the race there was a concert on the plaza by the Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra and I got to do the on-stage introduction for them. I am not usually a big fan of classic rock (Queen, Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac), but these guys were incredible. I am a fan of the Who, and they do them better than the Who did, really. They take the hardest songs of the era and sing/play them perfectly. The more dramatic, the better for this group. Queen was a perfect fit and they played several of their songs, but sadly not the bicycle song (it would have been appropriate). Too bad I had already put the camera away, the 16 of them are very photogenic. See them if you can.<br />
</div>startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-77781299022088474862009-09-07T22:57:00.006-04:002009-09-08T00:32:14.528-04:00We Are Motorhead and We Play Rock and Roll<div>Are you looking to increase your core strength for cross season but tired of the same old workout? A couple of months ago, solobreak (<a href="http://solobreak.blogspot.com/">http://solobreak.blogspot.com/</a>) posted a link to Jospe (<a href="http://alexjospe.blogspot.com/2008/10/core-strength.html">http://alexjospe.blogspot.com/2008/10/core-strength.html</a> ) and his core strength training routine. It seems to involve lying down with a big rubber ball and a lot of clenching. I have been planing on starting this routine for a couple of months now but haven't been able to make myself get going with it yet. </div><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div>But, now I've got a better workout and it's guaranteed to keep you from getting lapped by your cross nemeses this season: Go see Motorhead and stand within about 50 feet of the stage. Last night at the House of Blues in Boston I began my new core strength training program and it was incredible. It's the best all over body workout you can get if you survive it. From the time Lemmy Kilmister says "We are Motorhead and we play Rock and Roll" until the house lights come on, you'll be getting pushed and bumped around in a sea of humanity in black t-shirts while your upper body, including those all important core muscles, gets the workout of its life. </div><div><br /> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378944554353555570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 249px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVruUnAi3Q3uqwnQKKJcrAshwrqpUzSu72wgo8050PSue0TRaPvoP79iLZkvRmZpPqk8bdKGlJXgTkvXP9AkPxEBO5IrBC3_VvexemVJazUjaOpSCVt6B9BdEHnt_XCxqTl73LHP7HCKdB/s400/motorhead---3-high.jpg" border="0" /> <div></div><br /><div>Motorhead was one of my favorite bands in my college days. Loud and fast, Motorhead was punk enough for me and metal enough for my metal-head friends so it was one of few places we found common musical ground. And, as a bonus, it scared away most people we didn't like. The faint of heart usually turn tail and run when Motorhead is played at adequate volume. If you aren't familiar with Motorhead, dial up "The Ace of Spades" on itunes and you will see what I mean. 21 years later, I still had never seen them live until last night. It was absolutely the best rock and roll show I've seen in years.</div><div></div><br /><br /><div>From the core strength training point of view, what you need to do is: </div><ul><li>Get a ticket for admission on the floor for a Motorhead show and get within 50 feet of the stage. </li><br /><li>When Lemmy hits the stage, core strength training class begins and doesn't let up for about 2 hours (unless you need to get out of the scrum for a beer). </li><br /><li>Keep your arms up and your eyes open. </li><br /><li>Don't stand with your feet shoulder width apart like most exercises, you need to be ready to push back and you can't do that with your feet parallel. You need to be "en guarde" with one foot forward </li><br /><li>Use your stomach muscles and uppper body to push anyone who bounces into you. Start every push with your stomach muscles and give it everything you have. </li><br /><li>After warming up for a song or two, take a few laps threw the pit of despair to add an aerobic workout. Keep your head up. Bounce off anyone who gets in your way. </li><br /><li>Pick up anyone who falls down to strengthen your lower back muscles (and because it keeps people from being trampled).</li></ul><div>Next August I think I will spend the month following Motorhead around whatever country they are in so that by cross season my stomach and back muscles will be in top shape. By cross season I should have abbs of steal and eardrums of mashed potatoes. But if Lemmy can do it constantly at 63 years of age, I can do it for a month. And remember, as always, that which does not kill you makes you stronger (how old was Neitche when he died?).</div><br /><br /><div></div><div></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378947229283865778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1y_XZSD0HilpmAmrEOS8nka0mMoXQwv5fxWderYJBjLldmd6xEhMaJIy8DB-8DAq6L_XrG7QWGA0WWmXttUb0V1nwrz5VlWg80TF1lYeYD3GGITIb1XGpu-XGLYxdkYKyNz-6Mr9pzhjH/s400/lemmy.bmp" border="0" /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div>startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-31669164668620633372009-08-17T23:36:00.003-04:002009-08-18T00:13:01.248-04:00Blount Seafoods Fall River CriteriumThe Fall River Criterium is a one mile square crit with a long gradual uphill the last half mile with almost all the rest being downhill. It’s almost all either up or down with very little flat pavement. The location in the Fall River Industrial Park pretty much ensures that it will never be a great spectator event, but it does keep the costs low and the logistics simple. That means that more money can go into the prizes and primes and that keeps the best riders in New England showing up year after year. <br /><br />Photos from the event are available at <a href="http://archive.hickspicture.com/">http://archive.hickspicture.com</a> (no www).<br /><br />When the Cat 5 race started at 8:00 AM you could already tell it was going to be a hot steamy day for bike racing. Chief official Chris Constantino broke out the thermometer from his traveling bag of stuff and made it official - 90 degrees in the shade. With no breeze and not a cloud in the sky it was going to be a long day in the heat. <br /><br /><strong>Cat 5<br /></strong>The Cat 5s had the usual race of attrition with the less experienced riders falling off the back, but most of the 16 riders stayed in contention until the end. The host club, Swansea Velo Club/Bikeworks/Hallamore, started the day off right taking the win with a sprint by Greg Louro. They also took third with Robert Hoenick. In between in second place was Brad Costa (Unattached).<br /><br /><strong>Cat 4<br /></strong>46 riders started this race including a bunch from the host club. They set the pace early on and remained at the front. But with 11 to go in the 18 lap race, Jay Trojan (Century Drywall) took flier for a couple of laps but was brought back into the field. <br /><br />The race stayed together despite back to back cash primes with 7 and 6 laps to go. Tom Burrowes (Flye cycles), a junior rider, took the field sprint by coming around Tim Smith who lead it out too early heading up the center of the road. Alfred Bissell (Essex Velo) and Clayton Dennis (Scottee’s) also came around for second and third as the lead out got swarmed.<br /><br /><strong>Masters 45</strong><br />The Gearworks team of Paul Curley and friends had the strongest contingent in the race and they seemed intent on taking advantage of their numbers. As they have done throughout the season, they took turns sending one rider after another off the front to force the other teams to chase. The first up this time was Steven Ivester who went solo just a couple of laps into it. He got caught, but teammate Joe Rano was ready for his turn. He got about 20 seconds lead and primes of $20 and $50. Sam Morse (Corner Cycle) decided this move looked like it was meant to stick so he started the bridge up to Rano in time for the sunglass prime ($115 value) at 8 to go and he won it. He said later he would give them to his son Nate who was in the Cat 4 race. But he had Curley (Gearworks) in tow. Morse won the prime but the move wasn’t given any rope by the rest of the field who weren’t quite ready to concede the race yet.<br /><br />Morse went again a lap or two later with Bill Sawyer (Gearworks) in tow. They were gone for the final 6 laps with as much as 30 seconds advantage on the field. Bob Bisson (Gearworks) went boldly into no man’s land but got caught before completing the bridge to the lead two. With one to go it was Morse and Sawyer together with a commanding lead and no doubt that they would have the top two places. Somewhere out of site on the last lap, Morse dropped Sawyer to ride the finishing uphill drag solo with about 10 seconds on Sawyer. Then it was Curley taking the field sprint for third. When I spoke with Sam after the race he told me that he was fighting a bad cold. What a way to bake out those nasty cold germs. <br /><br /><strong>Masters 35<br /></strong>When Mark McCormack (Team Fuji) is in a pro race, he uses any of a number of tricks to line up at the front or get an advantage. In professional crits, the race actually starts a while before the gun goes off as everyone tries to start at the front to avoid the melee between the barriers. I’ve seen Markie slide into places on the start line that no one else would ever try to squeeze into and do it without bumping into anything or anyone, smooth. But Mark reserves that level of competitiveness for the big races, not the Masters 35 field at the local industrial park. This time he rode small circles behind the back of the field waiting at hte start line, trying to stay stealthy until the last moment. <br /><br />But within 4 laps into the race he went to the front and established a small lead with Ciaran Mangan (CCB). Scott Giles (Exodus) tried to bridge but he got a bunch of help that he didn’t want and gave up for the time being. Scott has only been riding in New England this season, but apparently his reputation as a hammer has gotten around and they weren’t letting him go this early. <br /><br />Markie and Ciaran continued on and solidified their lead, gaining over 30 seconds on the field by the half way point. With about 5 laps to go it seemed that they had it wrapped up with almost a minute lead. But the field really turned it on and chased for real in the closing laps. Mark and Ciaran had already sprinted for two primes with each winning one so it wasn’t clear who would be feeling stronger for the finish. Apparently the two leaders slowed up a bit waiting for the other to jump and/or the field really put on the chase because they got surprisingly close coming out of the final corner. Giles came out of the corner a few seconds behind the lead two and caught the leaders on the uphill grade to the finish. Mark later said “I knew the field was getting closer, but Scott actually startled me when he came up beside me. I had no idea anyone was getting that close”. But the chase definitely took everything Giles had and he only held on long enough to startle Mark and was dropped as soon as Mark and Ciaran finally began to sprint a couple of hundred yards from the line. Ciaran went to full speed as soon as he saw what Giles had done and passed Markie to take the win with Markie second. Giles, spent as he was, had plenty of time on the rest of the field to hang on for third two seconds later. Bill Yarbrody (NBX) powered up the hill to finish slightly off the front of the field for fourth. Only 24 of 39 starters finished this race. At this point it was getting hot hot hot and only the fittest were surviving the full distance.<br /><br /><strong>Cat 3<br /></strong>Early on in the race Mike Norton (Cyclonauts), Graham Garber (Central Wheel), and Stephen Dowsett (Berkshire Cycling) got away from the field. Their lead built up to over 25 seconds in front of the field. Only Norton had teammates in the field (2 of them) so it didn’t seem like a breakaway that was likely to stick. But Mike has trained them well and they did a fine job shutting down any chases. Maybe in the heat it wasn’t too hard to discourage a chase from forming and with most of the riders in the field on separate teams, there wasn’t really a dominant team interested in getting a chase together. The three stayed away and the little guys seemed to have an advantage over Norton who is built more like Jason Varitek than a bike racer. Maybe having two guys blocking in the field gave him an excuse to pull less in the break and evened out the playing field a little.<br /><br />At the finish it was clear that the smaller guys did have an advantage despite doing most of the work in the break as Norton had to sit up, cooked with 200 yards to go. Garber stayed in the saddle to motor up the hill and hold the lead until the end. Dowsett followed his wheel in for second, while Norton rolled in for third. Bill Yarbrody took another field sprint for fourth motoring off the front in the final meters.<br /><br /><strong>Masters 50 </strong><br />This one broke up right after the gun with a lead group of 6 rolling away. Surprisingly, Mark Hagen missed the break and didn’t chase in the heat which was now in the high 90s. That’s hot anytime, but after this lousy summer of rain and cool temps, it seemed even hotter. <br /><br />Frank Jennings (Gearworks) got away about half way through the race leaving behind the other 5 and no one chased. He stayed away and lapped most of the field. The chase of 5 didn’t lap the field but sprinted in for places 2-5 on the prize list. Paul Curley (Gearworks) took second, with Jay Trojan (Century Drywall) right behind in third. <br /><br /><strong>Pro 123</strong><br />A field of 32 pros and top level amateurs, including the two dominant local elite teams, Spooky and Indy Fab, showed up to race. Add to that Mark McCormack’s Team Fuji and Justin Spinelli from Svelte Cycles and you had plenty of fire power for a quality race despite smaller than usual quantity of riders. And between them, they would claim the top 6 places and the bulk of the prime and prize money.<br /><br />Robbie King (Indy Fab) launched the first serious attack and stayed away long enough to snag $120 in primes. He never got a convincing lead and on such a hot day it seemed unlikely he would stay away until the end of the 60 minute race by himself. As the field melted away, a select few joined King. Some half hearted attempts to bridge went nowhere once the select group of 10 or so went away . That group included Robbie, Justin, Nathaniel Ward (Spooky), Markie, Tobi Schultze (Team Fuji), Charlie Avis (Specialized), J Ferry (Millworks), Mark Paggioli (CVC), Ward Solar (Spooky), and Alec Donahue (Spooky). Donahue would get away from the group and bag a couple of primes. Spinelli would roll away from the rest of the break but would never quite catch Donahue. We kept wondering when Donahue would ease up for a minute and form a two man team of convenience with Spinelli, but he never let that happen. The two remained separated by almost exactly the same 10 to 12 second gap for the remainder of the race but Alec wisely never let Spinelli catch him even though it would have meant a lot less energy expended to reach the end. They would finish one-two off the front with Markie taking the sprint for third in front of Ward Solar. Only 20 of the original 32 would finish the one hour long race.<br /><br /><strong>Women 3-4</strong><br />14 riders of all ages lined up including the Mullaly family (Capital Velo Club) with twin daughters Katherine and Kelsea racing alongside their mom, Laura. It was a battle to see who could stand the heat the longest and with 5 to go there were just 5 left in the lead with the remainder in small groups across the course. The sprint went to Bridget Petrillo (CVC) with Jennifer Bonnacorsi second and Natalia Gardiol (Cambridge Bike) right behind for third.<br /><br />While they were picking up primes after the race, I overheard Natalia encouraging Jennifer to give cyclo cross a try this season. It’s a little hard to imagine crossing in weather like this, but the season starts next Sunday, August 23 in Springfield. Fortunately cross gets more women competitors than road racing does and for many good reasons. As Natalia pointed out, you can race your own race in cross, it’s not all about staying with the pack. Hopefully Jennifer will take her up on the idea, she certainly has the strength for cross as evidenced by her second place in the Fall River Criterium.<br /><br /><strong>Postscript to the Yarmouth race –</strong><br />I was talking with J Ferry after the Fall River pro123 race and I kidded him about wearing a t-shirt in the Yarmouth race. He explained that he had forgotten to pack his team jersey and, as it turns out, he also forgot his shorts and had to borrow his girlfriends. They fit a bit snugger and shorter (how do you spell "mankini"?) than he is used to so he threw on a pair of gym shorts on top. When the race started he stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb in a sea of lycra skinsuits and jerseys and we were all wondering who the Fred was in the t shirt flapping in the breeze. Yarmouth is a pro123 so there should be no 1 day licensees in the field. But, sometimes the best way to get noticed is to go back to the basics while everyone else is covered in cycling bling. J said the locals watching the race on the hill started cheering for “T shirt guy” every time he came around. Maybe they thought he was one of them doing his best against the ringers. To the locals, he represented the “everyman” that the sea of lycra certainly did not. J said it was the funnest race of his career and he is planning on returning next year to ride in a t shirt again. He is even thinking about printing “T shirt guy” on the back. I say do it!!startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-77544992455774112852009-08-11T00:28:00.004-04:002009-08-11T00:48:21.345-04:00Gate City Cyclone Aug 8, Nashua, NHThe Gate City Cyclone, now in its third year at Holman Stadium in Nashua (or actually around the stadium) is fast becoming a favorite of racers from New England and beyond. With a little something for everyone on its 0.75 mile loop, the course is just challenging enough for great racing without being too technical for the entry level racers. And nearly constant primes, compliments of Goodale’s Bike Shop in Nashua, don’t hurt either. Even the Cat 4-5 race was sprinting for three-place primes every 2 to 3 laps.<br /><br />The guys from the BOB (Bunch of Bikers) club had the course set up and looking great before the Kids’ races started at 8:45. Besides being huge on the cute factor, the kids’ races are where the future Gate City Cyclone champions are forged. Big fields of 10-15 kids contested the first few age groups for the youngest kids, but participation tapered off to just one racer in the 12-13 year old age group and none registered in the 14-15. What happens to kids when they reach 12 that they no longer ride their bikes? I can understand a big drop off in participation at 16 years old when kids get their driver’s licenses, but why at 12? On one hand I hope that some of them become part of the great sport that is bike racing. But on the other hand, I could understand why a parent wouldn’t encourage their kid to enter what is starting to seem to me like a dangerous endeavor. But we’ll get to that….<br /><br /><strong>Cat 4-5<br /></strong>There were a few 14 and 15 year olds in the Cat 4-5 race and they could have had a decent kids’ race just amongst themselves. But the Kids’ Races are meant for beginner racers, not USAC licensees so they were in the Cat 4-5 race because there was no USAC junior race on the program this year. Both Nate Morse (CLNoonan), who is about 14, and Tommy Goguen (Minuteman Road Club), who is about the same age, both won primes in this race. <br /><br />The pace was relatively fast for a Cat 4-5 field with the prime bell ringing every few laps. The Cat 5s who had never raced for primes before (Cat 5 races can’t have primes unless the race is combined with Cat 4) were probably shell shocked with about 10 three-place primes in this 24 lap race. Plus, the prize list went to 10 places for the almost full field of 70 starters. <br /><br />The front of the race stayed together throughout but lots of inexperienced riders fell off the back. I hate to see them get pulled out because that is so discouraging to a new rider, but on a short technical course like this, it had to be done. And as the announcer, I have to tell them that they are done for the day. In that situation, I always remember when Dick Ring pulled me out of my first race, the UMass criterium in 1988, for which I was nowhere near prepared. Fortunately, I am stubborn by nature and persevered through quite a few more races where I got the hook. I hope the current crop of Cat 5s does the same. <br /><br />Chris Esposito, a junior recently upgraded to Cat 4, won the race with Bryon Lewis (Colavita) right behind. A total of 47 riders finished of the 70 that started. I’ve seen Chris Esposito ride well a couple of times now. Some team should pick him up while he is still unattached.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Women Pro123</strong><br />A small but very strong field of 11 lined up for the women’s race including three Nashua locals: Sally Annis (Hub Racing), Kerry Litka (UNH) and Katherine Snell (Northeast). Also present was Rebecca Wellons (Northeast) who seems to be winning everything this year, and a strong team from the Sunapee squad. This is the first time I have ever seen a race with more prime prizes than racers, but race promoter Ron Bingham wanted to stick to the plan and give it all away despite the relatively small field. There were a total of 7 three-place primes (21 prizes total) in this race of 11 riders. Crazy!<br /><br /><br />Wellons, Clara Kelly (Northeast), Anna McLoon (Altarum), and Danielle Ruane (Sunapee) got away about half way through the race. The chase formed and dissolved and reformed but those 4 would stay away with Wellons winning the sprint by two bike lengths. This was a change from recent races where Rebecca has ridden away from the field for solo victories including New Britain and Yarmouth. Maybe she was getting tired of riding alone in races, but more likely this field was a little stronger with the very fast Anna McLoon (who would later ride and finish the Men’s Pro123 race) and several equally strong riders from the Sunapee team all ready to ride hard. Anna was next followed by Danielle and Clara. <br /><br />With only 11 racers, this was the only field of the day’s four races that was not either filled or close to the 75 rider field limit. With perfect weather for racing and no other road racing events in New England in conflict, there is no obvious reason. Not many promoters are going to be able to offer prize lists and primes, or precious time on a race’s schedule of events, for 11 rider fields. Are there really that few women racers around? I heard someone mention maybe including Cat 4 women in the race next year to increase attendance. That seems like a good idea, but how many entry level women are going to want to race against Cat 1s? Separate fields on the course at the same time might be an option, but I’ve seen that go terribly wrong more than once.<br /><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Masters 35<br /></strong>Dick Ring, aka “the Voice of New England Bike Racing” grabbed a mic at this point and the stories and insight started flowing. While I tried to keep up with him, I did not get to watch as much of this race as I would have liked. As we traded pulls on the PA system, a few moves went up the road, mostly thanks to Bill Yarbrody (NBX). But they were all brought back when the pack decided not to concede the race so early to a solo time trial or small group. Kyle Gates (Millwork) won the half way prime, a Cycle-ops trainer worth $350. Greg Melone (Gearworks) went on a solo flier with about three laps to go in a do or die move. <br /><br />In one of the greatest ever examples of Murphy’s second law (if something can go wrong, it will go wrong at the worst possible time), the generator ran out of gas just before the bell rang for one lap to go. The PA went dead and more importantly so did the finish line camera. So, the Masters race had a silent finish that had to be picked old-school by the officials without the benefit of the camera. It all worked out ok even though it got close at the end. Melone barely stayed clear for the win with the charging pack sprinting to full speed across the road behind him. The one closest to catching him was Patrick Ruane (Sunapee), followed by Steve Stockwell (Sunapee), and Ciaran Mangan (CCB). <br /><br /><strong>Men Pro 123<br /></strong>After filling the generator with gas, we got the Men’s Pro 123 race going. A full field of 75 took the line including a strong showing of 7 riders from Equipe Volkswagen-Specialized from Quebec. About 5 laps in, there was a bad crash on the first sweeping corner right after we rung the bell for the first prime. Peter Bell (Met Life) and another rider were down but Bell could not get up. The race would be neutralized when they came around again however the hard charging pack was gunning for its first prime of the race. Fortunately the crash was a few hundred yards after the line so there was time to neutralize the field. They were however surprised that the pace vehicle (a very “mod” yellow Vespa scooter) reacted to the instruction to slow down much quicker than did the racers, many of whom narrowly avoided the scooter while decelerating. Good thing it wasn’t a car!<br /><br /><br />Bell was taken to the hospital in the ambulance and after a 20 minute delay, the race was restarted with one neutral lap to get the blood flowing again, then the racing resumed. The Volkswagen-Specialized team snagged most of the primes tipping their hand as the dominant squad in the race. These boys didn’t drive 5 hours from Quebec to watch the locals race, especially Guillaume Boivin who took either first or second in almost every three-place prime. There were some attacks throughout the race but nothing stuck. The Quebecois kept at least two riders at the front of the field the entire race and when it really mattered, Boivin took the sprint from 100 yards out for the win. Morgan Hiller (CLNoonan) took a very respectable second place only a bike length or so behind the Canadian professional. Jake Hollenbach (CRCA)rounded out the podium.<br /><br />I haven’t heard how Peter Bell is doing and I didn’t see the aftermath of the crash from where I was. I heard he was taken away on a backboard and that is a common precaution for victims of crashes of any kind. But it gets me to thinking about the safety of this sport. I’ve crashed a few times but never anything serious, just the red badge of courage on a hip, elbow, or knee. But a lot worse can, and sometimes does, happen when we suddenly hit the ground at high speed. We all have our war stories, but have we ever really thought about the risk we are taking riding elbow to elbow at 30 mph wearing nothing but a thin layer of spandex over most of our bodies? That is part of what draws us to the sport and creates some of its legendary mystique. But people have died doing this. It’s no wonder that parents aren’t encouraging their kids to race bikes. Any parent that saw what happened to Peter Bell, whatever the outcome is, would be crazy to send their kid off to the same fate. They could get most of the same benefits from playing soccer or competitive swimming and have very little risk of serious injury. <br /><br />Maybe I’m just thinking about this too much given the recent accidents at the Tour (is Jens Voigt out of the hospital yet?), Nashua, and a member of my club who crashed at Wells Ave this Sunday and is still in the hospital with broken facial bones. Accidents will always happen at all levels of the sport, but can we make this sport safer somehow?startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-82334126088518620612009-07-23T22:23:00.006-04:002009-07-24T00:50:09.091-04:00Yarmouth Clam Festival<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHnSLXXMUS4dOJZsEG4SUHelNu2IgRW2vyIap1p6mG_fECyqmhnLINvWyUp_J_FFfKgpA5GdYmOcTnXY0Lshh9ujA3oESP8mCgcI2tuFP3zsv2IucE1HVZB7ZTNl8UPqhhL8S3i-k3gE6/s1600-h/yarmouth.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361875520116524210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 577px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 224px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHnSLXXMUS4dOJZsEG4SUHelNu2IgRW2vyIap1p6mG_fECyqmhnLINvWyUp_J_FFfKgpA5GdYmOcTnXY0Lshh9ujA3oESP8mCgcI2tuFP3zsv2IucE1HVZB7ZTNl8UPqhhL8S3i-k3gE6/s400/yarmouth.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div><div><div><div>This was the 29th annual bike race at the Yarmouth Clam Festival (although the Clam Festival started 44 years ago based on the banner above). By my rough calculation, that means the first race was held in 1981. A lot has changed in bike racing since then. The sound at the start of a race is dominated by the clunk of cleats locking into pedals instead of the sound of riders muttering and cursing as they reach down to tighten toe straps. Entry fees have tripled but prize lists haven't. The USCF is now USA Cycling. Bikes are made of crabon fiber, not many are made of steel anymore. And pre-registration is more often done by computer now than by envelope. Fortunately, in this crazy world where constant change is the one thing you can rely on, the Yarmouth Clam Festival Bike Race has hardly changed at all. It is still a barn burner of a race and it's still supported by the locals like no other race around.</div><div> </div><div>This year's event started on a somber note with a memorial lap for a member of the local cycling community, Carrie Girod. She was killed by a motor vehicle while cycling on vacation in Seattle just a week before the race. She had been a member of the Portland Velo Club, the host club of the race, and a friend of many of those in attendance. I don't know more details of the accident beyond that, but it should serve as reminder of the dangers cyclists encounter each time we ride on the roads with the big steel boxes. Soap box time: If I were king, I would make it illegal to send or read text messages while driving. It's probably to late to keep people from talking on the phone while driving, that's just too ingrained in people now to stop, but maybe it isn't too late to put an end to the unnecessary and extremely selfish act of typing while driving. And I would also make it illegal to where headphones/earbuds while cycling. That is just dumb too. Anyway, back to the race - </div><div> </div><div>After one complete 3.6-mile memorial lap around Yarmouth, the racing began for both the men's and the women's fields. The men's field (Pro 1,2,3) was nearly full at close to 100 riders while the women's field was considerably smaller at about 25. But the race promoter still pays the women's prize list 10 deep and $750, just like the men's race. Last year's men's winner,Justin Spinelli was not present to defend, but Rebecca Wellons (NEBC) returned to try to make it back to back wins.</div><div></div><br /><div>Once the racing was underway, there were primes every lap for both races thanks to the incredible support that the local residents and businesses have for this race. The crowds were 3 and 4 people deep through the center of town on both sides of the road and plenty of those people donated for primes. There was never less than $40 on a lap for each race and typically well over $100.</div><div></div><br /><div>Dick Ring, "The Voice of New England Bike Racing" , was in the crowd but it didn't take much coaxing to get him to grab a microphone and join me on the stage. He hasn't lost a step even though he doesn't see as much of the racers as he did before his "retirement" from race announcing a few years ago. It was a great privilege for me to once again trade stories and banter with the master as the race progressed. The unfortunate thing is that I barely got to pay attention to the race while I was trying to keep up with him. </div><div> </div><div>I remember that every lap was won by a solo break or a small group off the front but that the attacks didn't seem to last very long until Peter Bradshaw (Embrocation Cycling) took off in the men's race around half way through the ten lap race and Rebecca Wellons did the same in the women's race. Peter got some company soon after but Rebecca did not. She went on to bag the primes for several laps earning a couple hundred extra dollars and then soloed in for the win a minute ahead of the rest of the field. Her victory salute included a letter C for Carrie with her right hand. Maybe she could teach young Mr. Cavendish a thing or two about appropriate and respectful victory salutes. Anna McLoon (Alturum Cycling) was second and Danielle Ruane (Sunapee) was third more than half a minute in front of the rest of the field which sprinted down the finishing strait to claim the rest of the prize money.<br /></div><div></div><br /><div>In the men's race, Bradshaw, who was the world champion bike messenger a few years ago, got some company when Damien Colfer, Ryan Fleming (Met Life), Morgan MacLeod (Bowdoin College), and Dan Vallaincourt (Colavita) pulled up alongside. They rode together as temporary team mates and established a solid but not insurmountable lead by working well together. Vallaincourt was on the front more often than not when they came through the start/finish area and was awarded most of the primes. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Bradshaw was the only one with much support behind in the field so blocking was not as much of a factor as it might have been. Instead, it was the power of the only full professional in the break, Vallaincourt, that drove the train and kept the break away. On the final lap, Bradshaw attacked the group and dropped most of them. But Vallaincourt caught back on and passed Bradshaw just before the finish line to take first prize by half a bike length (see picture below). Colfer crossed just seconds later followed by Fleming. The field charged down the final hill at well over 40 mph after already swarming MacLeod (who would finish 27th). Adam Myerson (Mountain Khakis) would taked the field sprint for 6th. Of note, Luke Keough (CLNoonan), winner of the previous day's race at Claremont (see previous post) would wind up his sprint on junior gears (45x12) and finish 9th. The downhill sprint and restricted gears put him at a big disadvantage, but he still pulled off a result in the money. Just wait until next year when the training wheels come off.</div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361858715115559362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 305px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXb7W4xaeqj9tUKlMiAGq9fIkN6Pq_OAIKYI4JkPbLnHtsY_A5xrlEvFEmhiq3ZyYXgX1y6U1jfw9Z9t0wr64n2WHf2GY8n16EiSQc7mbGa7X5EUH7chj41NIPtinFt1gO8TESSVqOeus/s400/YARMOUTH+FINISH.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><div>After the race, the top three women showed up promptly for the podium which is a big deal in Yarmouth because there actually are spectators who care there, but Bradshaw and Colfer apparently decided to take a warm down lap after the men's race and missed the whole thing. Vallaincourt is a pro on and off the bike and knew where to be and when to be there. For a short time the officials considered DQ'ing Bradshaw and Colfer for their transgression. Based on the picture of Bradshaw with a wad of cash at the Embrocation Cycling blog, I guess they didn't follow through on the threat. It sure does suck to be the announcer at a big race and have to plead over the PA for the podium to show up, but I wouldn't want to see them DQed after a great race either.</div><br /><div></div><div>In addition to the prize list and primes, the winners also received an original painting from Joe Cousins, a local artist and one of the coordinators of the Clam Festival art show. Rebecca is going to need a bigger home if she wins another one. I am not sure, but I think it was Dan's first win at Yarmouth despite being from just down the road in Saco.</div><br /><div>Here's a picture with Kristen Fortini (aka Mills), me, Dick Ring, and Joe Cousins at the finish line:<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361858513588907250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 263px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR2QPG47OLESjd_KPE7INK249ZhVhRZu7EVyK06JlsWP9m-bfocoGoBrTeKQ1jG6TsuHqu2NifdJ8XxGCfJBeJPOlwkFkE1k8iCj2-C2nUuroogEPBaLlShocez4sgp2-hFpl0EBPlWTiQ/s320/DICK+RING+AND+ME.jpg" border="0" /></div></div></div></div><br /><p>Thanks to Rose for snapping the pictures. After the race and some fried clams, Rose and I did a little sea kayaking nearby and had a great trip. I can't wait to go back next year for the racing and more fried clams.</p><p>You can find more pictures of the event at <a href="http://pa.photoshelter.com/gallery/Yarmouth-Clam-Festival-Pro-Cycling-Race-2009/G0000O0eaDw2jDNM/?_bqO=25&ppg=25&_bqH=eJxL9w02d0x0d3dKcQz29I0qzSj1KrPMNMjIiDewMjG1MjK1snKP93SxdTcAAn.D1ESXcqMsFz9ftQCQqJq7Z7y7o4.Pa1AkNkUACo4a9Q">http://pa.photoshelter.com/gallery/Yarmouth-Clam-Festival-Pro-Cycling-Race-2009/G0000O0eaDw2jDNM/?_bqO=25&ppg=25&_bqH=eJxL9w02d0x0d3dKcQz29I0qzSj1KrPMNMjIiDewMjG1MjK1snKP93SxdTcAAn.D1ESXcqMsFz9ftQCQqJq7Z7y7o4.Pa1AkNkUACo4a9Q</a>--</p>startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-44953878831543803842009-07-20T22:34:00.002-04:002009-07-20T23:07:54.837-04:008th Annual Claremont Criterium, July 18th, 2009The 8th annual Claremont Criterium saw racing on the same downtown course as previous editions, but with a new finish line. The organizers decided to move the finish away from the park and put it right in the thick of the downtown businesses. Fortunately, many of those businesses donated cash and gift certificates for primes making this “the prime heavy criterium” as the promoter, Kevin Ondre, has dubbed the race. And he is right, I don’t recall giving out so many cash, merchandise, and gift certificate primes in a race in seven years of announcing as I did at this one. I was either ringing the prime bell or making sure that the prime sponsors got some publicity for their donations on every lap and since the course is only 0.45 miles long and lap times were often under a minute, the action kept coming fast. I had little time for journalistic note keeping for the blog, but here is what I've got: <br /><br /><strong>Kids Races</strong><br />We started the afternoon schedule with two heats of 300 yard sprints for the kids under 10 years of age. It was a great way to start the day and all the kids seemed to have a good time. Hopefully we will see some of them in junior races in the future when their training wheels come off. <br /><br /><strong>Junior 10-14<br /></strong>Peter Vollers Jr. (Vollers Law/Start House) won two cash primes and then beat Owen McCullom in a two up sprint at the finish. McCullom (Team Placid Planet) is about a foot taller than PVJ and a year older but PVJ barely held him off.<br /><br /><strong>Juniors 15-18</strong><br />Joshua Leaman (Noreast) broke away solo about half way through the 30 minute race and looked good to go for the solo finish. But John Herrick and Chris McKenna (Woodstock Bicycle) put on the chase and got him with 4 laps to go. Somewhere out of site on the last lap, Leamann attacked the two and took the last portions of the final lap solo to win by several seconds. Herrick would outkick McKenna for second.<br /><br />It was nice to see four young women compete in the race with the boys. They were racing for the same prize list so there were no prizes for the girls but, unofficially, Emily Curley (Gearworks) won the “girls’ race” by a lap.<br /><br /><strong>Cat 5 19-34</strong><br />The promoter decided to hold separate races for the Cat 5s based on age with the split at 35 years. This was probably a good idea as the course is fairly technical and larger fields of inexperienced riders would only lead to trouble. In the race for the younger Cat 5s, Ben Kramer (Sunapee) went solo from a field of about 10 riders with about 10 to go and looked good for the win but he was caught just after the final corner, about 300 yards before the finish, by Dustin Marshall. Marshall led it out and just edged out Kramer.<br /><br /><strong>Cat 5 35plus</strong><br />16 started the race for the older Cat 5s and it got whittled down to just 6 on the lead lap with 6 to go. That group included the only woman in the race, Carolyn Cole (Claremont Cycle Depot). She took the first prime of the race in the first half and was usually in the top three places throughout the race. She would finish fourth in the field sprint after Brice May, Alexander Gray, and Raymond Surell (in that order).<br /><br /><strong>Masters 40 plus</strong><br />One of the sponsors of the race was Vollers Law of Woodstock, Vermont. If that name sounds familiar, it is because it is the law firm of Peter Vollers, the former collegiate champion (at UMass in the mid 80s) and pro rider with Bill Sykes’s IME cycling team. He is still in great racing form as evidenced in the 40plus race where he broke away and took an uncontested solo win. <br /><br />As the race announcer, I used the cash primes as an opportunity to give a shout out to the race sponsors by assigning each prime in the name of one of the sponsors. Most primes are awarded on the leader or lead group in the race, but when a lead is firmly established and there seems to be little else left for the field to race for, I start putting primes on the field to liven up the action. But that is actually bad news fo the field because that means that it seems like they are out of contention for the win. <br /><br />Vollers got away with a solid gap on the field so I started ringing the bell for field primes. I credited the first one to Vollers Law. So, we had the first field prime sponsored by the guy that was riding away from them. Cruel? Maybe, but it got a laugh out of quite a few folks including Peter himself who told me later that he was cracking up on the bike while trying to concentrate on time trialing away from the field.<br /><br />I guess the teasing got to the Sunapee guys because they eventually decided to put on a chase. Pat Ruane (Sunapee) came the closest to catching Vollers with Eric Pearce (Bethel) right with him. The <a href="http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2009/07/18-Claremont-Criterium.asp">official results</a> indicate that they finished with the same time as Vollers but I think I remember a gap remaining at the finish. The rest of the field came in 21 seconds later.<br /><br /><strong>Cat 4<br /></strong>Zach Labry (MIT) went off the front solo in the first half of the race and stayed out long enough to bag several primes. But then he got caught. He went again with about 8 to go in a do or die move. You got to give him credit for riding aggressively, but this time it would not be the “do” option. He was caught and went to the back of the field at the finish. At least he won a few primes while he was away. Bryon Lewis (Colavita) would take the field sprint win, followed by Alfred Bissell (Essex Velo), and Sam Van Kuren (Bikyle). <br /><br /><strong>Pro 1,2,3<br /></strong>Adam Myerson (Mountain Khakis) was on the pre-registered list and he would have been the favorite to win but he must have extended his vacation by a day because we didn't see him this time. In years past he has done quite well at Claremont. Even without him, a strong field lined up for the feature race of the day. With the prime bell ringing nearly every other lap, and lap times well under a minute (the average speed must have been about 30 mph), the action kept coming with new breaks forming and getting caught constantly. <br /> <br />At one to go the field was all together. Luke Keough (<a href="http://www.clnoonanracing.com/">CLNoonan</a>) started the 90 degree left hand corner after the start/finish line in about 8th place, but by the time he was through that corner he was in second slot right behind Jake Hollenbach (CRCA). It would apparently stay that way until they came back into sight at the final corner 300 yards from the finish. Keough came around Hollenbach right after the corner and spun his junior restricted gear as fast as he could, with his head bobbing as fast as his legs were spinning. Most adult riders have about a 53x11 front/back gear combination. If I recall correctly, the max gear for a junior is something like a 45x12. That is a huge handicap for the younger rider when the speeds get over 30 mph. Considering that the average speed was near 30 mph, the sprint was probably close to 40 mph when it topped out.<br /><br />Steve Stockwell (Sunapee) also came around Hollenbach as Hollenbach felt the pain of sprinting out of the saddle after leading out the last lap. Keough would pull away for the win with Stockwell behind, then Hollenbach maintained enough speed to hold on to third. Hollenbach was heard saying after the race, “I’ve got to get myself some of those junior gears.” Just wait and see what Keough does in the sprints next year when he will be 19 and on unrestricted gears.startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-43966921144256689922009-07-17T01:25:00.002-04:002009-07-17T01:43:11.905-04:00New Britain July 12th, 2009This race always gives me that déjà vu feeling because it is on the same one-mile course as the Nutmeg State Games held in June. Both Rick Comshaw (Nutmeg State Games) and Jose Aguilles ( New Britain Crit) put on great events and it is a great venue for a race. The main difference, at least from the point of view of those of us working on the race, is that the schedule is about three hours shorter for the New Britain Crit. Both races even had <a href="http://www.markmaglio.smugmug.com/">official photographers</a> snapping shots of all the action. Here’s how it went.<br /><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Cat 5</strong><br />As is often their custom, the Cat 5s took a very conservative approach to racing and stayed together for the whole affair. Walter Archer won the field sprint after 10 laps of pack riding at a comfortable pace.<br /><br /><strong>Masters 55 and 65/70</strong><br />Once again, just like at Attleboro, the older riders were asked to vote whether they wanted their own field, or to be combined with the 55s. They chose to consolidate. Douglas Adams (Mosaic Smalti) took both primes and the finish in close pack sprints with Clarence Ballard (Somerset).<br />In the 65s it was all David Burnett (Mystic Velo) who soloed off the front almost the entire race. He finished more than half a lap ahead.<br /><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Masters 45<br /></strong>They stayed together through the first half, but back to back primes near the half way point launched John Raheb (who won both primes) on a solo attack but he was caught about 4 laps later. Keith Ford (Sunapee) took a flier with 1 to go and held on to take the win by several seconds. Raheb somehow managed to take the field sprint for second after his solo efforts. As the field sprint wound up behind Ford, Mike Norton (Cyclonauts) hit the deck hard about 200 yards out after he pulled out of one of his pedals. He was in the front of the field but he was the only one that went down. He is going to need a new MCRA jersey and new shorts and a lot of peroxide (youch!!). I’ll be surprised if we see him this weekend in Claremont.<br /><br /><strong>Masters 35</strong><br />Steve Stockwell (Sunapee) took off about half way through the race and kept going. He got some company, then he got more and more as riders bridged from the field to the break. At some point the break got too big and fell apart. After they got caught by the field, Stockwell managed to keep going solo. He stayed away for a well deserved victory by 3 seconds. <br /><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Masters 30</strong><br />I am not sure why the age graded categories now start at 30 plus. Why, back in my day sonny, a 34-year old was still young enough to go to the Tour de France and win (<em>Grandpa Simpson voice</em>). And since a 38 year old is currently in third place in La Grande Boucle, I’d say that a 34 year old should still race his category and not start sandbagging masters races until he is 35. Although, many in this race also did other races, so I suppose if nothing else, the race promoter's bottom line is benefited by the extra entry fees. But I digress. <br /><br />Tim Unkhert tried to get away, as is his custom, but he got some company. Eric Brownell was one of those who bridged across, but he was the only one to stay away after the break reformed around Unkhert. At the end it was Brownell soloing off for about 3 laps and taking the victory. The Spooky Bikes duo of Colin Murphy and Ward Solar sprinted for second and third. Unkhert ended up 8th.<br /><br />Cat 3<br /><br />Ben Wolfe (Mystic) went from the gun, as is his custom, and took a $25 cash prime. He kept going with blocking help from team mate Evan Kirk (Mystic) back i nthe field. Both of these guys are only 15 or 16 years old and have only another 15 years to go until they can start sandbagging the masters races (OK, I’ll try to let it go now). Ben was caught, which won’t be his custom much longer. He went again at the last lap but got caught again. James Joseph (former Olympian from Guyana) (We Stand United) won it in a field sprint. Our race promoter, Jose, was in the field and finished a respectable 10th place representing the host Greater Hartford Cycling Club/Central Wheel. It can’t be easy to jump into a cat 3 race with no warm up and a body and mind full of stress from all the BS that comes the promoter’s way on race day. A top 10 finish is most impressive.<br /><br /><strong>Juniors<br /></strong>David Gilchrist won the race in a field sprint. There really was no other likely outcome since the Mystic team had the field stacked and Gilchrist already won the Nutmeg State Games on the same course a month ago.<br /><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Women 4</strong><br />Cesarina Bellahilla appeared to win the women’s race, but she was disqualified when the officials realized that she had an international license that equated to higher than category 4. The real winner of the race was Kristen Lotito (CRCA).<br /><br /><strong>Pro 123</strong><br />A group of 11 with most of the major teams represented got away early in the race but was brought back. The group of 11 fell apart as it was being caught but from it a smaller group developed with Skip Foley (360/Landry’s), Jermaine Burrows (We Stand United) and Franklin Burgos (Kraft Genie) establishing leads of almost 30 seconds. But Jake Keough (Kelly Benefit Strategies) rode chase tempo at the front and began to pull back the remainder of the break mostly by himself. Note that he didn’t chase when his brother, Luke (CLNoonan), was in the original move of 11. But he wasn’t going to let three amateurs have his lunch money if his brother wasn’t there, so he decided to chase. <br /><br /><br />He got help, maybe a little more than he wanted, when three guys from CCB – Amos Brumble, Will Dugan, and Aliksander Biliasuk. They chased and caught the 3 leaders with 10 to go making the lead group seven with plenty of horsepower to stay away. Melito Heredia (Innovation Bike) broke out of the field and into no man’s land. The CCB boys tried to gap Keough off the back of the break a couple of times but it didn’t work, he had enough in reserve to come back around each time. With 3 to go Brumble attacked for CCB. When he was pulled back, Dugan went. When he was caught it was Brumble again. It got confusing trying to track the action across the open ball field and behind the trees because Brumble and Dugan look exactly the same from half a mile away. Meanwhile, Bialasuk was the protected man for the finish. Brumble and Bialasuk exchanged places when Brumble was caught and Biliasuk barely maintained his lead to the end over the spent breakaways. Burrows sprinted right behind him for second with the gap only a couple of bike lengths. Skip Foley took third leaving Keough less lunch money than the former winner of the race probably had hoped for. Dugan followed, then Burgos. <br /><br /><strong>Women Pro 123</strong><br />You have to give Jose credit for having separate races for the women's categories, but only 8 riders signed up for this race despite a 10-deep prize list. Rebecca Wellons broke away after a few laps and road the rest of the race solo to victory. It was another case of daja vu all over again as she had done the exact same thing at the Nutmeg Games crit.<br /><br />Because the 8 riders started the race at such a slow pace (about a minute slower per lap than most of the other races), the officials began to cut out laps to keep the next races on time. Some of the women seemed to get a little bit perturbed when the lap cards were dropping faster than (<em>fill in your own analogy, it’s getting too late for me to think of one, let me know in the comments section what you came up with and I’ll edit it in another day</em>). What they didn’t probably realize, at least during the race, is that although they were loosing laps, they were on the course for the full scheduled time. <br /><br />There has to be a better way to run these small races so that the women get a better race out of it. Running as a points race has been suggested as has racing based on time instead of laps, which is essentially what happened here. But the women’s races are in the same catch 22 they have always been in – there aren’t enough women racers (much of the time) to have a proper race, but why should the women show up to race if they know they aren’t going to have a good event? How do we break that cycle? Or am I just mis-reading the situation.<br /><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Cat 4<br /></strong>Stayed together with a big field sprint which was won by Gary Birkamshaw (Mystic). As I recall, he pulled away from the field in full sprint without even standing up.startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-45972580484875459722009-07-17T00:03:00.003-04:002009-07-17T00:22:36.978-04:00Attleboro Criterium, July 11, 2009Promoter Sandy Martin pulled it off again and put on a fine race despite having little volunteer support and even less sponsorship. The course is a 1 kilometer four corner squished rectangle with a bit of an uphill every lap. Most of the corners <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">aren'</span>t too tight but the first one after the start line does occasionally see riders overcook it and head onto the neighbor’s lawn at the apex of the corner. Here’s how the races went down:<br /><br /><strong>Women Cats 3 and 4, and Women Masters 30 and Masters 45 (all fields together for separate prize lists)<br /></strong>The Cat 5 men often start a day’s racing off and it’s unusual to start a day with the women’s races. But that’s how Sandy Martin rolls so the women got top billing today. The combined field numbered about 25 riders and Frances Morrison proved herself to be one of the fastest by taking the first prime about 5 laps into the 25 lap race. Attrition started to take a toll at the back with brisk lap times around 1:34. About 18 or so of the women stayed on the lead lap and on the last lap it got strung out with some gaps. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">MaryAnn</span> Martinez (Capital <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Velo</span>) took the final sprint to win the 45 plus category and the race overall. Frances Morrison was second overall and first of the Cat 3 and 4 race, and Perri <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Mertens</span> (Cambridge Bike) was first of the 30 plus race. Frances Morrison graciously donated her prime (a mini-pump) to be a prize for the kids grass <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">crit</span> since she “already has plenty of bike pumps”. <br /><br />Unfortunately I could not follow the kids races while also announcing the big-kid races on the road so I don’t have any info on that. Hopefully a few of them will be back to compete on the road when they are big enough.<br /><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Masters 55 and 65</strong><br />The two age groups were given the option to race together with separate prize lists or to keep two separate fields. The older guys were up for a challenge so the two fields were combined on the start line. That meant that both races would be doing 25 laps. James <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Themig</span> (Mystic), Micky B (BOB), and David <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Burnette</span> (Mystic) got away and stayed away. They lapped the field with about ten to go. Meanwhile, Mark Hagen (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">CCB</span>) was hanging out in no man’s land chasing. He seemed to realize that he <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">wasn</span>’t going to catch or be caught and soloed the last 15 laps to take fourth overall. At one point he asked where all the primes were that I had promised on the start line, but I’m sorry, there are no primes for a solo rider in no man’s land. They all go to the break or to the field to liven things up.<br /><br />Dusty Adams (Mosaic <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Smalti</span>) took the field sprint which included the three riders on the lead lap so he got fourth in the 55s. The overall winner, Burnett, was in the 65s so Mickey B won the 55s with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Themig</span> second and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Mark</span> Hagen soling to third. Richard Martin (Masters <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Velo</span>) was second in the 65s.<br /><br /><strong>Masters 45<br /></strong>This 30 lap race started off at full throttle. They were riding hard for the opening half of the race but a group of 6 got away at 15 to go. But <a href="http://www.solobreak.blogspot.com/">Dave Foley</a> (BOB) brought it back all by himself with no apparent help from the rest as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">CCB</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Sunapee</span> sat on him. As I recall he even won an uncontested prime during the effort. He sat back after his work was done and recovered at the back for a lap or two. It stayed together until the end for a big field sprint. I thought I saw Mike Norton taking a close sprint but the official <a href="http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2009/07/11-Attleboro-Criterium.asp">results</a> indicate that Greg <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Melone</span> (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Gearworks</span>) beat him in a photo finish. It's a good thing <a href="http://www.pioneerevents.com/">JD</a> was there with the totally pro finish line camera set up. That’s probably not the result Foley had in mind when he was single <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">handedly</span> closing the gap.<br /><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Masters 35</strong><br />All the big masters teams were well represented in this one including <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Sunapee</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">CCB</span>, Team Fuji and Corner Cycle among others. They went fast from the start but that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">didn</span>’t discourage the attacks. It did keep any of them from staying out there long until three of the more powerful teams were represented off the front. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Ciaran</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Mangan</span> (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">CCB</span>), Pat <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Ruane</span> (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Sunapee</span>), and Tobi <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Schultze</span> (Team Fuji) took off. With three big teams up there, it fell to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">guys</span> from Corner Cycle to chase. They would put a rider on the front and try, Dave Foley-style, but either <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">couldn</span>’t break the strong blocking of the teams in the break or just <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">didn</span>’t want to commit enough legs to it. Kevin Hines (Corner Cycle) pulled the longest at the front but the blocking <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">couldn</span>’t be beat. Johnny Bold (Corner Cycle) then tried to go solo but <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">couldn</span>’t get across. Surprisingly, Mark <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">McCormack</span> (Team Fuji) <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">didn</span>’t try to go solo, but he did take the sprint for fourth place. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">Ruane</span> won the sprint of the three breakaways followed closely by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Schultze</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">Mangan</span>.<br /><br /><strong>Pro 123</strong><br />This one was the Hot Tubes show from the start and no one else ever really had a chance. Gavin <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">Mannion</span> (Hot Tubes) and six team mates took the line using this race as final preparation for their trip to the Red River Stage Race in Kentucky, the only UCI stage race for juniors in the US. And they <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">didn</span>’t waste much time getting it going. Gavin, being on home turf, went first and then was joined by one, then another, then another of his team mates to make it a four man team time trial off the front. They easily lapped the field with 34 to go and plowed right through. Meanwhile, Peter Bradshaw (Embrocation), Skip Foley (Landry’s), and Peter Bell (Met Life) had formed a chase group off the front. Mark <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">McCormack</span> bridged up to the chase to make it four. But it all finished together after Hot Tubes set tempo for the last 20 laps or so and caught the four. They <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">didn</span>’t need to do that but it was probably good practice for the upcoming stage racing. Nathan Brown (Hot Tubes) took the field sprint to make it 1st through 5<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">th</span> places for the Hot Tubes team. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, they are all less than 19 years of age and riding on restricted junior gears. Mark <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">McCormack</span> was the best of the rest in 6<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">th</span>. Thanks to Mark for donating a big box of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44">Clif</span> shot and Fuji products for primes for races throughout the day.<br /><br /><strong>Masters 30</strong><br />This race was the only sleeper of the day because once Bill <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45">Yarbrody</span> (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46">NBX</span>) took off up the road solo, no one really seemed to try. Tim <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47">Unkhert</span> made a brief effort to chase but realized that studying for his graduate degree <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48">hasn</span>’t helped maintain his cycling fitness any. He went back to the field and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_49">Yarbrody</span> continued building his lead over a scattered field. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_50">Yarbrody</span> lapped and then went through the field, then <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_51">Unkhert</span> broke away to join him. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_52">Unkhert</span> just can’t help himself. The two worked together and stayed clear to the end. Just to confuse the spectators, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_53">Unkhert</span> came across the line first to claim second place leaving it to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_54">Yarbrody</span> to win the race solo a couple of seconds later.<br /><br /><strong>Cat 3</strong><br />Ben Wolf (Mystic) and Chris Bailey (Pedro’s) got away right after the start and built an 18 second gap before being joined by Mathew <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_55">Spaits</span> (Cambridge Bike). That break fell apart with 7 to go but Bailey carried on with a ten second lead. The field was lead, Foley-style, for four laps by Leo <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_56">Deforges</span> (Threshold Cycling) who then tried the solo bridge move. It’s tough to bridge after four laps on the front and unlikely to surprise anybody, but it kind of worked. He made it to within about 10 seconds at two laps to go with just <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_57">Spaits</span> on his wheel. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_58">Spaits</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_59">DesForges</span> apparently talked on the back side of the course and had some arrangement that apparently one of them misheard. It was clear that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_60">DesForges</span> was not pleased with the outcome when <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_61">Spaits</span> rode around him to take second place. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_62">Spaits</span> said afterward that there was a misunderstanding on the road but it got worked out after the race and that all is now well with both of them. Hopefully <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_63">DesForges</span> had the same understanding.<br /><br /><strong>Cat 4<br /></strong>It was the Scott Simmons story until the finish when he was beat by Steven Owens (Green Line <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_64">Velo</span>). Simmons ground a monster gear throughout the race to take all the primes and second place. He told me after the race he was turning a 56x11 most of the time, including the flat finishing strait. There was a slight tailwind on the finishing stretch, but 56x11?? Maybe if he <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_65">didn</span>’t mash such a huge gear his solo effort <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_66">wouldn</span>’t have gotten caught on the last half lap. It is amazing he held on for second.startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-70219780191816539532009-06-23T01:01:00.003-04:002009-06-23T01:22:09.086-04:00Mystic Velo Crit - Ninigret, RIMystic Velo Criterium, June 20th, 2009 Ninigret, RI<br /><br />The third “real race” of the season at Ninigret, not counting Wednesday weekly training races, was held under surprisingly good weather. It was even sunny for the first few moments of the first race of the day. Then the fog rolled in. Despite the thick weather, it never rained until the final race was over despite the forecasts and the reputation. Anyone who has been there knows to expect rain and wind no matter what time of year it is. <br /><br />Cat 5, 34 years of age and less<br />A pack of ten started in the warm morning sunshine but during the first lap, the temperature dropped 10 degrees as the Ninigret fog rolled in. Eight of them stayed together to the end despite a couple of attacks by Connor Walsh (NEBC). Harris Navelski (Lindscott) lead out the sprint from a couple hundred yards and barely held on to beat Walsh by a couple of tire widths. It was close enough that we had to check the camera. George Lowe was third but not by much. <br /><br />When Connor lined up for the Cat 4 race a little bit later in the day, the officials realized that something was wrong. He couldn’t have gotten an upgrade that fast without Diane Fortini being around. They checked the USCF via wireless web thingy and found that Connor is indeed a Cat 4. They let him finish the Cat 4 race, but DQed him from the Cat 5 race. He told me later that he thought it was a combined 4/5 race when he registered on-line. The DQ put Lowe into second and moved Matt Appleby into third. Connor gladly returned his 2nd place trophy when informed of the error.<br /><br />Cat 5 35 plus<br />14 men and one brave woman started the 17 lap race in dense fog. By 11 to go, a lead group of 5 formed with Tim Curley, Chris Darling, Todd Samuelson, Mark Schleinitz and Vinny Defrancesca. As the remainder of the field exploded behind them, they became the biggest single group on the road. So does that make them a breakaway, or just a depleted field? I guess it’s a judgment call. If I was in the group of 5, I would prefer to think of it as the field. There’s too much pressure in being a breakaway. <br /><br />Rebecca Lowe, the only woman in the group, held her own just behind the leaders. She spins a small gear. If she can develop the strength to push a bigger gear yet maintain the “suplesse” of a spinner, she might have potential to be a pretty good bike racer despite starting later in life than most.<br /><br />The group of 5 stayed away and built a 25 second lead over the nearest straggler. A chase of three closed it some, but there wasn’t enough time left to get back up to the lead. Todd Samuelson narrowly won the long sprint over Chris Darling with Vinnie DeFrancesco third.<br /><br />Cat 4<br />An escape of 4 riders got a 10 second lead in the first half of the race but it was caught. From that point on the field stayed together. Gary Birkamshaw lead out the sprint from the final corner and powered away from them sitting down. He got a 20 yard lead and held it without even standing up despite a furious out of the saddle sprint behind him. <br /><br />Junior 10-12, 13-14<br />The cub juniors started under a controlled pace for the first 5 of 9 laps with coach/mentors from the Cyclonauts and CCB clubs riding along. They taught the kids to ride in a paceline and get used to being adjacent to other riders. I am sure they helped the kids with cornering also since the Ninigret course has 6 corners, some of them more than 90 degrees. This was the first time I had seen the kids start a race with a controlled pace and coaching. It seems like a great idea and can only lead to a better experience for all the kids and quicker development of their skills. Let’s do this at more races! The alternative is to have the 2 or three most experienced kids (i.e. those with parents or older siblings in the sport) take off and leave the rest behind to ride their own solo rides just to complete the distance. When that happens, they probably aren’t be too inspired to try again. <br /><br />Once the gloves came off and the coaches moved aside for the final four laps, a lead group formed with Ian Keough, Peter Goguen, Ryan Walsh, and Brian Wolfe. The sprint came down to Wolfe and Goguen with Goguen taking it by just a few feet. Walsh rolled through a couple of seconds later, then Keough. Kara Mullaly won the girls race just seconds behind the lead group of boys.<br /><br />Juniors 15-18<br />The host club, Mystic Velo, has had strong racers in the masters age groups for years, but last season they put together a team of juniors from the southeast Connecticut region. Unlike some of the powerhouse junior development teams, the Mystic Velo team is made of local kids without prior experience. It is a truly regional grassroots team. They didn’t seem to get a lot of results last year, but this season they have been on fire lead by Evan Kirk and David Gilchrist among others. They had four riders on the line for this one with Evan Kirk sitting it out waiting for the Cat 3 and Cat 1, 2, 3 races later in the day. <br /><br />Connor Walsh (in his third race of the day) kept trying to attack at the front of the field but he appeared to be just having some fun as he knew he was greatly outnumbered by the Mystic boys and they were right on him every time he tried. Emily Curley (Gearworks) and the Mullaly sisters, Kelsea and Katy (Capital Velo Club) were able to stay with the boys and it was all together through 8 laps to go. David Gilchrist (Mystic) launched with 6 to go and bagged a $5 prime. He stayed away with a 22 second lead that shrunk to 8 seconds when Tommy Goguen (Minuteman) attacked. But John Harris (Mystic) stuck with Tommy and Tommy diverted his energy and added a lot of extra feet to his race trying to shake him when he should have been focused on his pursuit of Gilchrist. Gilchrist stayed away and Tommy got out sprinted for second by Harris, then Ian McFarland (Mystic) came in fourth solo. After almost losing her lead by refusing to pull through with Nate Etchells who was also trying to do the shake and bake like Tommy Goguen, Kelsea Mulally took the girls race ahead of Emily Curley. Emily had a chance while Kelsea slowed down. Emily told me to shush and not tip Kelsea off that she was sneaking up as they passed through the start/finish line. I was shushed by a fourteen year old!! <br /><br />Cat 3<br />Little breaks rolled off the front but nobody was really getting away. This race had lots of masters racers in it getting a warm up before the age graded races start, maybe more than there were young guys who are trying to make it up the scale to Cat 1. The Gearworks team (Paul Curley, Tom Stevens, Bill Sawyer) took turns keeping the pace high. It all stayed together to the end with Mike Maloney (Cyclonauts) launching but getting caught with a lap and a half to go. Nice try, but it wasn’t for nothing as he did soften the field for his team mates by making the other teams chase. Ben Wolfe (Mystic) went to the front with Evan Kirk (Mystic) on his wheel a lap and a half before the finish but it was too early. Wolfe buried himself trying to keep Kirk at the front but they got swarmed with 1/3 of a lap to go. As they came out from behind the trees heading into the final corner the field was spread across the road with a few yellow and black Cyclonauts jerseys forming a new lead out train at the front. Two of them held on including Mike Norton who took the win followed by team mate Douglas McKeon. Paul Curley was third.<br /><br />Masters 55/65<br />These races started with separate fields on the course at hte same time. The 55s stayed together despite some attacks from Mark Hagen (CCB). The 65s saw Richard Martin and MCRA champ David Burnett (Mystic) roll away early on. After a couple of primes, the 55s caught the 65 field with 12 to go and they raced together from then on.<br /><br />Martin and Burnett sprinted like gentlemen drag racing from the final corner, no drafting, no games. Martin couldn't quite match the speed and Burnett won the sprint by a half bike length. <br /><br />In the 55s, world champion track racer Chip Berezny (Bike Line) narrowly took the sprint with, I got to talk to Chip for a few minutes after the race and found out that he won his rainbow jersey in the scratch race for his age group last year in Australia after a couple of near misses the previous years.<br /><br />Masters 45<br />This race stayed all together until 12 to go when a group of 5 rolled away. The group included Dave Solobreak Foley (BOB), Mike Norton (Cyclonauts), Todd Buckley (arc en Ciel), Sam Morse (Corner Cycle), and Gary Dalton. They worked well together until about 5 to go when they stopped cooperating. Mike Norton appeared to be the first to turn off the groupthink as he pulled out of the pace line from second place and dropped to the back of the group. Meanwhile, a chase of three formed from the front of the remaining field. When Norton dropped back, that left a gap behind Todd Buckley that Dalton would have to close. However, Buckley took off and extended his lead. He finished it solo while the remaining break of four fell apart completely. Meanwhile, the Gearworks train moved to the front of the field and started grabbing back time on the 4 scattered breakaways. Buckley finished strongly but exhausted to take the win solo by several seconds. Then Foley took second alone, with Morse a couple of bike lengths behind. Norton barely avoided getting caught by the hard charging field to take 5th.<br /><br />35 plus<br />Mike Rowell (NEBC) took off from the gun and got a 25 second lead. He stayed out for several laps alone and took a $10 prime before being caught. Johnny Bold (Corner Cycle) took off into the lead from a small breakaway group that included Scott Giles (Velo Brew), David Potter (Arc en Ciel), Ciaran Mangan (CCB), Rick Kotch (Union Velo) and William Mark. Bold and Giles time trialed away and lapped the field with 3. They mixed into the field and for the most part stayed near the front. Mike Rowell took a dig for third off the front but got caught. Bold and Giles remained mixed in the field for a couple of laps and with 1.5 laps to go bold caught Giles napping. Giles was stuck in the middle of the field a few places behind Bold. Bold used the opportunity to attack and got an immediate gap over Giles. Giles took most of the next to last lap to pick his way through the field then turned on the after burners for the final half lap. He closed the gap on Bold on the finishing stretch but could not finish it off. He lost by just ½ a bike length after spotting Johnny Bold a couple of hundred yard lead with 1.5 laps to go.<br /><br />Cat 1,2,3<br />This race went 41 laps for 35 miles. CLNoonan, CCB, and Indy Fab were represented along with regional micro-celebrity in the making Adam Myerson from the Mountain Khakis professional team. Since Adam was alone without team mates, it can be assumed that this race was not a priority of the Mountain Khakis team and Adam was primarily interested in getting in some training at race pace.<br /><br />Emerson Oronte (Independent Fabrication), Amos Brumble (CCB), Alec Donahue (Spooky), and Tautkus (Exodus) formed a break early on. Ben Wolfe, a Cat 3 junior from Mystic Velo, tried to bridge but got caught by the field that wasn’t ready to let anything else go, especially a Cat 3 junior. The break stayed away thanks to cooperation between the breakaways and also the blocking of the Spooky team who still had several riders in the field. The lead was big enough that when splits were taken, it was from the back of the field to the front of the break. And the gap kept closing. With 4 laps to go Oronte crashed out of the break on the third corner. It happened at the worst possible time – one lap sooner and he could have gotten a free lap, one lap later and he would have only had 3 to go and it can be guessed that he would have finished solo in fourth since the chase group of 7 didn’t catch him until the last half lap. But he lost precious time as he circled his bike a couple of times and collected his thoughts before remounting and trying to hang on to his 4th place. <br /><br />The chase caught him on the last half lap so a crash a lap later would probably have left him in fourth. Also, the remaining three riders in the break caught the back of the field in the half lap following his crash so presumably, if he hadn’t crashed when he did, he would have been riding in the field. When the break got close to the back of the field, Donahue’s Spooky team mates conspicuously dropped to the back of the pack ready to escort their “Dear Leader” anywhere he wanted to go. And he wanted to go to the front so they set up the train and led Donahue out for the win which he took by half a bike length over Tautkus followed by Brumble. <br /><br />Luke Keough took the furious downwind sprint for fourth using junior gears amongst older riders in the chase group. He had noticed that other riders were in their 11 cogs for the sprint but he was restricted to junior gears which I think max out somewhere around a 46x12. Oronte rolled in at the back of the chase group to take 11th place. The prize money went to ten places so he probably had to go to the ATM to buy first aid gear for his road rash. <br /><br />I found out later that he clipped his inside pedal on the pavement as he rounded the third corner on the course. His former team mates on the CLNoonan team said the abrasions on his hip looked very deep, but the results of Sundays Hoosatonic race indicate that he did pretty well there despite his injuries.<br /><br />Luke Keough was the camera man for my in-race video camera. I will post excerpts when I get a chance to edit it down to a reasonable length (but I have said that before and still there are no race videos on the blog yet).startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-12952730742451310832009-06-19T23:19:00.004-04:002009-06-19T23:48:15.771-04:00Nutmeg Classic Criterium and Whaling City Cyclone<div>Nutmeg State Games, New Britain<br />Results - <a href="http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2009/06/13-Nutmeg-Classic-Criterium.asp">http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2009/06/13-Nutmeg-Classic-Criterium.asp</a><br /></div><br /><div>With races scheduled for almost one complete lap around the analog clock, the Nutmeg Classic Criterium has to be the longest day of bike racing in New England. This race could only happen near the summer solstice or there wouldn’t be enough day light. Add to that a two and a half hour drive to get there by 7:00AM and I had my work cut out for me. As the announcer, I have to be coherent all day on the mic, manage all the primes, help keep the event on schedule, and various other tasks that always seem to come up. This time I even got to play neutral support mechanic a couple of times. All this is to say – I didn’t have time (or the energy by the end of the day) to take careful notes for the blog. And the video camera never left its hidey hole deep within the back of the truck. But here is what I’ve got for you. Sorry for any inaccuracies and omissions. I am sure I have mis-remembered a few things. Feel free to correct me i nthe comments. I promise to do better next time (Mystic Velo Crit tommorrow).<br /></div><br /><div>Cat 4/5 under 30<br />Despite a rather leisurely pace, the race stayed together for 15 laps until Colby Nordbloom (NHCC) tried to go solo with 5 laps to go. But he got caught at 2 to go and found a comfortable spot to sit in and recover as the field meandered around the 1 mile course another time. When the bell rang for the final lap, the field was still together and didn’t get moving until the sprint. Nessim Mezrrahi (Quad Cycles) took the sprint for first by a bike length. It was his next to last race before getting married (in two weeks) and moving to DC. Quad Cycles will miss him but some club in DC will be lucky to get him on board. Greg Vigneux (Spin Arts) was second followed by David Gilchrist (Mystic Velo). Gilchrist, the first of the finishers from the State of Connecticutt, won the pale blue Nutmeg State Games Jersey.<br /></div><br /><div>Cat 4<br />Evan Kirk (Mystic Velo) took the sprint win ahead of Mason Chen (Chesire) and Andrew Tucker (Quad Cycles). Evan made it two Nutmeg State Games jerseys for Mystic velo.<br /></div><br /><div>Cat 4/5 30plus<br />The day’s schedule was set up perfectly for those that wanted to do more than one race and the scissors were in high demand between races starting with several of the Cat 4s from the previous race.</div><br /><div><br />They started the 20 lap race at a gentlemanly pace and stayed together through 13 to go when back to back to back primes sprung Rob Ehrman (Vision Quest). He kept going, working the lead up to 18 seconds. Nathan Turillo (Refunds Now) tried to bridge couldn’t make it across before dropping back to the field. The field started chasing with 3 to go and Ehrmann’s lead began to drop. He started the final lap with an 8 second lead. In the last half lap the margin was just a few seconds or a couple of first downs. As Ehrmann rounded the final corner and struggled to keep his legs turning to the finish line, the field was in full gallop. Ehrmann had just enough left in him to hold off the field and win by only 2 bike lengths.<br /><br />The 55 plus and 65 plus fields raced at the same time with a 1 minute gap at the start. Unfortunately, it didn’t stay that way and keeping track those off the front and the back got a bit confusing. The lead groups of three in both races stayed separate, but the fields got mixed together. This wouldn’t have been a big problem except that the lapped riders caused the race volunteers to miss ringing the bell on the last lap. But these are gentlemen and the three gentlemen in each lead group decided on the road to ride one extra lap and have a proper sprint. Clarence Ballard (Somerset) won the 55s with Turgut Baliki (CTS) and Thomas Cormier (NHCC) right behind. In the 65s it was Ed Lang (NEBC) outsprinting John Auer (Somerset) and David Burnette (Mystic Velo).<br /></div><br /><div>45 Plus<br />After several small breaks were launched but couldn’t stay away, Stephen Gray (Bethel) won this one with Aubrey Gordon (Liberty Cycle) and Paul Curley (Gearworks) right behind.<br /></div><br /><div>40 Plus<br />Patrick Ruane (Sunapee) took the win with a solo break.<br /></div><br /><div>35 Plus<br />Patrick Ruane won his second race of the day coming out of a break of ten for another victory.<br /></div><br /><div>30 Plus </div><br /><div>Patrick Ruane sat this one out to save a match or two for the pro race. This was a super aggressive race with lots of little breaks noodling off the front but the field wouldn’t let anything stick. Paul Richard (CCB) took the victory.<br /></div><br /><div>All the 20 mile races (30plus Cat 4/5, the Cat 4, the Masters 35 and the Masters 30) finished within 43 to 44 minutes. I would have epxected the Masters fields to be noticeably faster than the Cat 4 and 4/5 fields.<br /><br />Cat 3<br />The field had to wait on the line for a few minutes before the start. In the mean time, I got a little bored so I decided to give them a first lap prime while they were waiting. I announced it on the line and rang the bell as soon as they were told to go by the oficial. This strung the field right out. Morgan Hiller (CLNoonan) took the prime then the race settled in to a more normal cadence. But soon the primes came fast and furious and lap times dropped to 2 minutes (30 mph on the 1 mile course). The large field of 70 or so wound it up and raced super fast in this race. Morgan Hiller busted a spoke toward the middle of the race and came in for a replacement which his younger brother got for him. He got back in before the free lap rule ended and found his place toward the front of the field. In the final sprint, Sergio Atocha (GS Gotham) took the sprint ahead of Hiller (CLNoonan) and Jurgen Neblong (Base 36). Worthy of note, 58 year old former Olympian for Trinidad and Tobago, Patrick Gellineau (Team Squiggle), finished a very respectable 6th after already taking two 5 places and an eighth in the Masters races earlier in the day.<br /></div><br /><div>Women 30 plus and Women 40plus<br />These two groups raced as one pack of about 25 with separate prize lists. At the finish Rebecca Wellons outsprinted her NEBC team mate, Brook O’Connor. A couple of places back, Steph Chase (IBC) took first place in the 40plus.<br /></div><br /><div>Men Pro-1,2,3<br />A big field of more than 70 riders lined up eager for primes and prize money totaling well over $2000. Regional powerhouse teams from New England and New York were well represented with the notable absence of Robbie King and his Indy Fab squad. The racing came fast and furious with lap times occasionally going under 2 minutes (over 30 mph). After awarding 8 $100 primes, the field was strung out heading into the final laps but no move could make a lasting impression. That is until Craig Luekens (CCNS) and another rider (sorry I don’t have the name) established what looked like it could be the winning move with an 18 second gap. But with 4 laps to go CCB moved to the front and began an organized chase. Three and sometimes four CCBs dragged the field along, apparently without much help. from the rest of the field. They absolutely buried themselves to catch the break. Meanwhile, a series of crashes marred the final three laps with a few riders being taken out in each one. One of the riders later explained “people were sticking their wheels where they just didn’t belong”.<br /></div><br /><div>With only a couple hundred yards to the line for the finishing sprint, the CCB train caught and passed the 2 man breakaway at full gallup delivering their designated sprinter to the line with a clear shot and a full head of steam. It would be Colin Jaskiewicz’s day in the spotlight after the self less work from his CCB team mates. Those team mates included Will Dugan, Aliaksandre Bialiauski, Yahor Buben, and Dzmitri Buben. Dugan and Jaskiewicz are team mates at UVM as well as at CCB. Jaskiewicz is the current national collegiate criterium champion and Dugan is the national road race champion. Through in Jamie Driscoll, UVM’s collegiate Cyclocross champ, and you have an impressive school cycling team.<br /><br />Women 3 and Women 4 raced together in one field with separate prize lists. Although there was some confusion at the finish when some of the women couldn’t see the lap cards, Frances Morrison (Mount Holyoke College) won the Cat 3 race and Pan Xieyuel (CRCA) was the first of the Cat 4s. I am sorry I don’t have more details on this race, my memory of that one is just a blur.<br /><br />Women Pro-3<br />Rebecca Wellons (NEBC) broke away from the field to time trial away the last few laps of this one. Here is the finish line photo:</div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349250351623720850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 316px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZdrfr9mFf4r2cykK_V_bK9tKQ-o9GvbuSdNeYXmSI-wJtDG8UNilQ3CsLGUnxhtbnzbuN1aZQ626GAna4c-v9SQXbgy2t06zG5P-il4mNBMDwF9n809uOwiwJVJjCoUmyBY987XHCM3G/s320/rw+nutmeg.jpg" border="0" /><br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Whaling City Cyclone, June 14th, 2009<br />Results - <a href="http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2009/06/14-Whaling-City-Cyclone.asp">http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2009/06/14-Whaling-City-Cyclone.asp</a><br /></div><br /><div>After early rains soaked the first few races of the day, race promoter Bill Humphries (aka the Bike Guy) got the weather he was hoping for. The skies dried out followed by the roads and a great day of racing was had by all except the Cat 5 field that had to race in the pouring rain. One of them even had a flashing red tail light on his bike.<br /></div><br /><div>The race schedule included all categories and most age groups but this report is going to be brief and limited to just the feature race of the day, Men Pro 1, 2, 3.<br /></div><br /><div>Many of the same riders who had competed the previous day were also present for the Whalng City Cyclone with the addition of the Independent Fabrications Team lead by last year’s winner Robbie King and Team Fuji lead by former national pro road race champion Mark McCormack. The CCB (Cycling Club of Basingstoke) was present after their win at the Nutmeg Classic the previous day. </div><div><br />With the prime bell going off frequently the speeds were high on this technical 6 corner course and the field was often strung out single file. Around half way through, Robbie King (Indy Fab) took a prime and kept going. This drew out Amos Brumble (CCB) and Ron Larose (CCNS). Dylan McNicholas (CCB) quickly joined giving CCB the tactical advantage in the break. With the two strongest teams in the race represented in the break, the blocking started and the lead group established a solid gap that approached half a lap of the 1 km course. At one point the gap came down a little bit and Will Dugan (CCB) jumped across to join his two team mates in the break giving CCB 3 out of 5. Robbie King kept sprinting for the primes, maybe realizing his chances in the finish were slim, and winning them. With 6, 5, 4, and 3 laps to go everyone in attendance who knows anything about tactics was wondering when CCB would begin to use their numerical advantage against Robbie and Ron. It was not until the final lap or so that the three CCB riders started attacking and making the other two chase. Larose cracked after one CCB attack but dangled in no man’s land long enough to take 5th place. The second attack went and King covered again. Heading into the final corner, CCB made their final move hoping that King was spent but he countered and blasted into the lead going up the uphill sprint. Dugan stayed right with him. Despite having been off the front for almost half the race, taking most of the primes from the breakaway, and covering strong attacks from McNicholas, Dugan and Brumble in the last lap, he held on to beat Dugan to the line by just inches. That’s two for two for Robbie at Whaling City. Robbie said after the race that he was glad Will wasn’t a little taller; he might have won with a bike throw. It was that close. </div>startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-48898106416834991282009-04-23T23:55:00.001-04:002009-04-23T23:59:12.577-04:00Myles Standish Circuit Race April 19th 2009If any of you out there in the blogosphere have any influence with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), please use it to make them re-pave the roads in Myles Standish State Forest. If there was ever a more shovel ready project, I don’t know what it might be. The roads in MSSF are now, after this long winter, a complete disgrace. As a result, race promoter Bill Sykes made the difficult decision to move the race off of what was left of the traditional loop around the forest and move the race to the training race course around Charge Pond. It’s a 1.3 mile loop surrounded on one side by the pond and on the other by a camping area that is not yet open for the season. In short, it’s a great place for a training race, but kind of lackluster for one of the early season New England classics. It just isn’t the same without the possibility of someone taking a plunge into a recently thawed lake (yeah, it’s happened). But there really is no choice until the DCR paves the main loop around the forest. <br /><br />It went pretty much like this:<br /><br />Juniors 10-14 - Peter Goguen (Minuteman Road Club) won it in a break with Nate Morse (CLNoonan), Chris Worden and Peter Vollers Jr (Starthouse). All four young men have fathers who are either active or retired racers so it’s no surprise they formed the winning break. Peter has the extra benefit of having at least 3 older brothers who race as well (I’ve lost count of exactly how many bike racers that family has spawned). <br /><br />Cat 5 – The 50 rider field limit suddenly looked like a good idea on the narrow roads and a full Cat 5 field this early in the season is a good sign for the future of the sport. Not much of note happened in the first 18 miles as the less experienced riders dropped off the back. Too bad they couldn’t stay in and finish, but this ain’t the marathon and the stragglers were pulled out by the officials. Anyone can ride 20 miles so there isn’t much pride to be had in simply finishing. About 36 riders finished in the field. As they passed through the start finish area to begin the last lap you could see the two BikeBarn guys, Andy Legan and Bill Kinney, making their way to the front with Bill keeping Andy out of the wind. Bill led Andy to the front and kept him there through most of the final lap but got slammed by the headwind on the backside of the course. Andy fended for himself from there and came around the final corner in second spot. He was gradually coming around the guy in first, Devin Riley, and had almost completed the pass when he inexplicably stopped pedaling with 30 yards to go. This allowed Riley to maintain his lead by just inches to the second cross walk which was the real finish line, not the first one that had been used during all four training races earlier in the season. Legan took home second prize and a valuable lesson – ALWAYS KNOW WHERE THE FINISH LINE IS. <br /><br />Pro 1,2 – Mark McCormack (Team Fuji) and Jeff Craddock (CCB) took off early and worked smoothly together for several laps. They collected two $10 primes for their efforts, then they dropped back rather suddenly to the field losing a 30 second gap in just two laps. That’s weird, Markie and Craddock don’t just suddenly blow up like that. The field had split behind them but came back together as Frank McCormack pulled the field up. It was later theorized that Shawn McCormack (youngest of the three racing McCormack brothers) was the team leader for the day and since he didn’t make the break, Mark dropped back and Frankie pulled Shawn’s group up to the chase group. At the finish Shawn won after getting the best lead out in history from Mark, Craddock was second, and Frankie was third. Peter Vollers would later tell me how Frank and Mark can control a race so well that that their designated sprinter doesn’t have to do much in the race but sprint for the finish. Peter said they did it for him many times when they were together on the IME team in the 90s. Not to take anything away from Shawn who is obviously coming back into form after years off the bike, but apparently today was meant to be his day from the start.<br /><br />Mas 45 – This one stayed together through the first half despite turning in the fastest lap times of the day including the previous Pro-1-2 race. The speed was due in large part to the very active Gearworks team that seemed to be constantly sending riders off the front. First to go was Tom (the Steamboat) Stevens. He went twice before Bob Bisson went twice. At the finish it was all together and Paul Curley (Gearworks) took the win from the final corner followed by Joe Rano (Bike Alley). <br /><br />Juniors 15-18 Mystic Velo and CLNoonan made up half the field so they looked like favorites to win on the starting line. The field of 10 stayed together to the end. David Gilchrist (Mystic) led it out from the final corner and hung on to win with his team mate Ben Wolfe right behind in second. Chris Esposito, who came all the way from Maine, took home third place.<br />Masters 55- Mark Hagen (CCB), Dusty Adams (Mosaic Smalti) and a few other strong men took the line with a couple of first timers to make a field of 12. It didn’t take long to sort things out. One time heading up the strait to the start finish area Dusty had to shoo a turkey off the course as it almost got hit by the field trying to cross the road. They seem to be all of the forest these days, it must be mating season. After a bunch of accelerations and attacks mostly by Hagen, the top few came in together with Hagen taking the win followed right behind by Dusty Adams and Richard Cullen (Corner Cycle). <br /><br />Cat 4 – The Cat 4 field was filled to the 50 rider limit but it didn’t take long to start shelling some off the back as the front of the field worked hard all race with some fast lap splits (around 3 minutes). Ryan Littlefield (Base 36) came to the front at the finish and stayed in the saddle to power up the slight hill for a win with the field unable to come around. On his wheel was Brett Walker (Hammer), then Greg Brown (Cape Cod Cyclists).<br /><br />Mas 35 – This was another race that stayed together despite riding very hard. Ray Botelho (the One Man Wrecking Crew) and Eric Jensen (Bike Barn) always seemed to be at or near the front when the field came through the start finish. With 2.5 laps to go, Botelho took off from the front of the field and no one went with him. Jensen seemed to help him by sitting on whatever chase developed and then it got to the point where no one wanted to sacrifice their chance at second place so Botelho was gone to stay. He won by about 15 seconds followed by Paul Curley at the front of the field sprint, then Todd Rowell (NEBC).<br /><br />Women – A field of about 13 started but they were of all different ability levels and ages ranging from Emily Curley (Gearworks) to Julie Lokhart (NEBC). After about 5 laps more or less together, 4 rolled off the front. Kristen Gohr and Lydia Mathger (both Colavita) along with Cathy Rowell (NEBC) and Carola Berger (Webcor) rode the remaining 12 laps together while the rest of the women formed small groups behind. Kristen Gohr won the halfway prime– she can sprint. At the finish Kristen led it out and took the win with her teammate Lydia right behind her, then Rowell and Berger followed right behind.<br /><br />Cat 3 – This one was a barn burner because 17 Cat 3s decided to ride hard, really hard. They consistently rode the fastest laps of the day, even faster than the Pro -1-2 field. The Pros were turning in 3:00 minute laps. The Cat 3 field, dominated by the CLNoonan and NEBC teams with four riders each, was always below 3 minutes and commonly around 2:50 per lap. Somehow, Colin Huston (CLNoonan) and Kyle Smith (Cambridge Bike) went even faster and broke clear off the front. David Chiu (NEBC) didn’t wait long to jump on the train and leave the pack behind. With the two biggest teams in the race up front, Tom Middleton, the only rider in the race from the host Mass Bay/Bicycle Link Team, decided his best chance was to join the break. He later said it almost did him in making the bridge across, but he made it and recovered well enough to start taking his pulls. Meanwhile, the six NEBC and CLNoonan riders controlled the field for their team mates in the break. After a few laps Smith couldn’t maintain the pace of the break with only limited opportunities to rest and dropped back to the field. The remaining three stayed away and Huston led out the sprint all the way up the finishing strait and dropped Chiu and Middleton. Chiu managed to hold off Middleton then 30 seconds or so later, Paul Lynch (CLNoonan) won the field sprint for fourth.<br /><br />David Potter was kind enough to be the in-race camera man for the day during the Masters 35 race. I’ll have some race video posted as soon as I figure out how to edit it down to a reasonable length. Check back soon.startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-586195163157814087.post-32436634893474900882009-04-23T00:06:00.001-04:002009-04-23T00:13:15.582-04:00Rick Newhouse Memorial Criterium Ninigret, RI, April 18th 2009For four years now, the Arc en Ciel racing team has hosted a race at Ninigret State Park in early April to honor the memory of Rick Newhouse, a teammate who died of brain cancer a few years ago. This year they got unusually good weather for the event and reasonably good turnout despite being in direct competition with the now famous Tour of the Battenkill.<br />Other than occurring on the same day, the two races don’t have much in common. Ninigret is a perfectly flat 0.9 mile course purpose made for bike riding. There are lots of corners but no real technical challenges unless it is windy. With no vehicle traffic, the pavement stays in great shape. Could Battenkill and Ninigret be any more different?<br /><br />Here’s what happened:<br /><br />Cat 5 – A motley looking crew (not Crue) lined up at the start finish line. One guy had a blue skateboarding helmet on (but apparently ANSI approved). One guy had on layers of threadbare ripped t shirts that looked like a costume from the midnite showing of Rocky Horror. As Mimi the USCF official said, “Cat 5s, there so cute”. Once we got them going, the race stayed together until the half way prime. Cat 5s aren’t allowed to have primes of any value according to the rules, but we found some water bottles to give away. Skateboard helmet guy (Richard Woodland) won both primes, but the field came back together both times. After winning two primes he was the odds on favorite to win, but he didn’t factor in the sprint. Greg Louro (Bike Works) won it followed by Jay Zengobot (in the worn out t-shirts). He was informed by the officials after the race that his attire did not meet the USCF standards. If he keeps placing in the races, he should be picked up by a club before too long and be able to retire his t shirts for a club jersey before they get any thinner.<br /><br />Cat 4 – This was a very active race with little breakaways heading off the front constantly. Rich Persons (Minuteman Road Club) was especially active early on. He must be the tallest rider in New England on his 65 cm Seven Cycles bike. He and Cicero got a 5-6 second gap before the first prime but junior Evan Kirk (Mystic Velo) bridged across the gap on the last half lap and kept going passing the break just before the long finishing strait. He rode away for the prime. Too bad the prize was a six pack of beer from race sponsor Newport Storm and he’s only 18 years old so it was given to his chaperone. He then won another prime as did his team mate David Gilchrist. His mom picked up his prime. Four guys from Bikeworks including the Phenix brothers set up the lead out train with 2 to go, but number three in the train couldn’t hold the wheel of his team mate and the lead out fell apart before the finishing strait. They got swarmed and Marshall Johnson (B rumble Bikes) took the win in a field sprint.<br /><br />Masters 55 – Mark Hagen (CCB) split it apart early on with a starting group of about 10 riders dividing into two like a horny amoeba (I am not normally prone to such simile, but I like that one). Hagen took the primes but Richard Martin (Masters Racing) and Michael Miller (Masters Racing) hung with him. Miller mashed a huge gear while Hagen and Martin are spinners. At the finish Hagen took the win in a sprint. 67 year old Martin hung right on to the end. He already has 5,000 miles in his legs from a long winter in Florida. Even for a retiree, that doesn’t sound possible, but you have to believe his wife – she’s a USCF official.<br /><br />Mas 45 – The feature of this race was the Gentlemen’s Vitality Prime, a prize package put together by Arc en Ciel rider Randy Rusk. As the story goes, Randy’s wife has insisted that he get rid of his collection of Playboy magazines so he donates a few from his collection every year to be part of a prime that also includes a 12-pack of Mountain Dew and a DVD of a bike race. It has been dubbed the Gentlemen’s Vitality Prime because that should be all you need to stay horny and alert through middle age. Hence, the prime is award only for the 45 and 35 plus races. By the way, the DVD in the 45 plus GVP was Tyler Hamilton’s winning ride at Liege Bastogne Liege. I guess Randy isn’t planning on watching Tyler anytime soon, the race being just one day after Tyler’s final exit from the sport due to doping charges (see previous post). Anyway, the prime was won by Duane Scofield (BOB). The sprint broke the pack up after they let the break of Eric Morro (BOB) and Todd Buckley (Arc en Ciel) go as they counter attacked after the prime. They had just a slight advantage when the third placed rider slipped out in a corner slowing the rest of the field momentarily. Officials put him back in after a free lap, but he succumbed to road rash and dropped out of the break, then out of the race completely. The gap for the two leaders went to 30 plus seconds with several Arc en Ciel riders in the field blocking the chase. Skip Foley saw the writing on the wall and tried to bridge with 3 laps to go but Paul Curley (GearWorks) and David Kellogg (Arc en Ciel) got on him. Foley gave up in frustration when they wouldn’t come around to take a pull but the effort broke the chase group down to 5 riders. Foley even rode off into the grass to force Curley to take the lead. Buckley took first with Morro right behind. About 30 seconds later the sprint for third went to Curley narrowly over Scofield after Scofield led it out. Foley didn’t even try.<br /><br />Mas 35 – This one started to break up right away with groups all over the course. The lead group had nine including three from Arc en Ciel. It included Mathew Kressy (Millwork), Bill Yarbroudy (NBX), Bill Mark (NBX) , Michael Shireman (Union Velo), Peter Voller (Vollers Law), Todd Buckley (Arc en Ciel), Tobi Schultze (Fuji), and David Potter (Arc en Ciel) and Jason ?Hurd (Arc en Ciel). Yarbrody took off with about 8 laps to go and built up a 30 second lead on the break. He stayed away and lapped the remnants of the field (about 8 riders). He then went straight through them to finish solo. Kressey won the field sprint for second. Murat Altimbasak (Millwork) took the second gentlemens prime which had been put on the field earlier in the race. Thanks to Jason Hurd I will have some in-race footage from my handlebar mounted camera posted soon. I need to do some editing first. Check back soon.<br /><br />P123 – Tim Unkert is the man. He might not always finish first, but he is always trying and always rides harder than anyone else (except maybe Yarbroudy). He started his first solo attack on the first lap and got a 20 second lead before getting some company. Buckley and Rusk, both in their second races of the day , caught up, then Skip Foley (360/Landry’s) and a few others bridged up. But it all came back together with 25 to go. Unkert went again solo again but got company from Buckley again and Adam Sullivan (Spooky). With 16 to go, it was all back together again. But Unkert was still shooting off the front every time the pace slowed a little. A break of 5 finally stayed away – Rusk, Unkert, Kressey, Vollers, while Jim Thomas (NEBC) bridged up last. Kressey led out the sprint from the last corner 500 meters out and held on aided by a tail-cross wind. Thomas was close behind, then Unkert, Vollers and Rusk all drag racing in the saddle to the finish, not really sprinting. Unkert, for all his efforts won primes for a stay at a bed and breakfast in Newport and 60 bucks, some beer, and third place in the race. <br /><br />Juniors – Four junior racers showed up which is two more than last year. Ian McFarland (Mystic Velo), Peter Vollers Jr. (Vollers Law), Emily Curley (Gear Works), and Grace Vollers (Vollers Law) all raced for 30 minutes and it finished in that order.startfinishpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914620679550205808noreply@blogger.com2